Equatic Launches Low-Cost, Gigaton-Scale Technology to Decarbonize at Unprecedented Speed

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Carbon removal company Equatic recently spun out from the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering’s Institute for Carbon Management to deploy the first technology that combines carbon dioxide (CO₂) removal and carbon-negative hydrogen generation. Addressing both legacy and future emissions in a single process, the multi-product climate solution enables decarbonization at the scale, speed and cost necessary to mitigate climate change.

Alongside the launch, Equatic is announcing that it has entered into a pre-purchase option agreement with Boeing, a leading global aerospace company. Under the agreement, Equatic will remove 62,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide and will deliver 2,100 metric tons of carbon-negative hydrogen to Boeing.

“The world has two unprecedented challenges: how to remove and permanently store gigatons of carbon dioxide and how to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels,” says Lorenzo Corsini, Principal Advisor at Equatic. “Equatic’s first-of-its-kind technology solves both. It combines basic principles of chemistry with the natural capabilities of the world’s best carbon removal tool, the ocean, to create the most promising solution for scalable decarbonization — cost-effectively and at a globally-relevant scale.”

The oceans are the world’s largest reservoir of carbon dioxide. One quarter of the world’s daily CO₂ emissions are drawn down into the ocean. Equatic’s technology accelerates and amplifies this natural cycle to remove and durably store CO₂. The entire removal and sequestration process happens within the boundaries of an industrial carbon removal plant, enabling Equatic to precisely measure CO₂ down to the gram.

“To mitigate ongoing and accelerating climate change in the timeframe necessary to avoid irreversible consequences, we need truly disruptive carbon management technologies,” says Lord John Browne, Founder, and Chairman at BeyondNetZero, and the former CEO of BP who is now the Chairman of Equatic’s Advisory Board. “Equatic’s breakthrough technology absorbs carbon dioxide via the oceans and has the added benefit of generating green hydrogen as a by-product. The good news is that the costs are low enough to allow unprecedented scaling and adoption globally.”

Equatic currently operates two carbon removal pilots in Los Angeles and Singapore. One hundred percent of the CO₂ removed from these pilots has been pre-sold, including via pre-purchase agreements with global payment solution provider, Stripe. Equatic expects to reach 100,000 metric tons of carbon removal per year by 2026 and millions of metric tons of carbon removal for less than $100 per metric ton by 2028. 

Furthermore, Equatic will become a dominant producer of carbon-negative hydrogen — hydrogen created from processes that reduce atmospheric CO₂. The hydrogen will be sold as a clean energy source to decarbonize industrial processes, produce electricity for the transportation sector, create Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) and fuels for trucking, and power the Equatic technology itself.

“The aviation industry has an important role to play in global decarbonization efforts. Reaching aviation’s sustainability goals will require a multi-faceted approach and Boeing sees immense value in Equatic’s technology,” said Sheila Remes, Boeing's Vice President of Environmental Sustainability. “SAF is enormously important to reaching the commercial aviation industry’s net zero by 2050 goal, and we are excited to partner with Equatic on both green hydrogen feedstock and carbon dioxide removal.”

Equatic emerges from UCLA with over $30M in initial funding including grants and equity investments from organizations such as the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Anthony and Jeanne Pritzker Family Foundation, the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, the National Science Foundation, YouWeb Incubator, The Nicholas Endowment, Singapore’s Temasek Foundation, PUB: Singapore's National Water Agency, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). 

Equatic’s Technology

Equatic’s carbon removal plant uses four inputs–seawater, air, rock, and renewable electricity–to remove and store CO₂while simultaneously generating carbon-negative hydrogen. Equatic passes an electrical current through seawater (electrolysis) and then passes atmospheric air through the processed seawater (direct air capture); these steps trap CO₂in solid minerals and as dissolved substances that are naturally found in the oceans, ensuring that the trapped CO₂ will remain stable for 100,000+ years. Finally, Equatic uses rock to neutralize the processed seawater and ensure that the ocean’s chemistry is preserved.

This patented process is the key to delivering scalable, high-quality carbon removal, durable and permanent storage, and accessible, carbon-negative hydrogen fuel. It allows for:

• Gigaton-Scale Carbon Removal and Storage. Carbon removal requires CO₂ (1) capture, (2) transport, and (3) permanent storage. Seawater is unique in that it can do all three at once.  Equatic amplifies this natural carbon cycle to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere by leveraging the size and scale of the oceans and allows the oceans to serve as an enormous storage reservoir of CO₂.
• Multi-Product Solution. The hydrogen gas that is co-produced can be used to power the process itself, or sold as a carbon-negative fuel source. Combining CO₂ removal and hydrogen production within a single industrial footprint and the same process equipment significantly reduces the cost associated with both. It also enables Equatic to create a clean fuel to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, thereby avoiding fossil fuel-related emissions.
• Industry-Leading Monitoring, Verification and Reporting. Equatic offers a contained solution that does not rely on the open ocean. As such, Equatic is the only ocean-based carbon removal company that transparently measures removal with extreme certainty. This enables the company to sell highly-sought, high-quality, permanent carbon removal credits.

About Equatic

Equatic is a carbon removal company leading the industry in combined carbon dioxide removal and carbon-negative hydrogen generation. Using a patented seawater electrolysis process, Equatic amplifies the ocean’s inherent ability to absorb and store massive amounts of carbon. Formerly known as Project SeaChange, the technology was created and developed at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering’s Institute for Carbon Management. Equatic operates two pilots in Los Angeles and Singapore, respectively, and works with industry pioneers, national agencies, and government leadership to scale climate solutions at unprecedented rates. The company sells high-quality carbon removal credits and is the only ocean-based carbon removal company that measures removal with unprecedented certainty.

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Source:

Equatic, press release, 2023-05-31.

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