DURHAM, N.C., Aug. 11, 2023 — 8 Rivers’ cutting-edge Calcite technology was announced as a winner of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Direct Air Capture (DAC) Hub grant, as an anchor technology in the Alabama regional DAC hub led by Southern States Energy Board.
Calcite will be funded to undertake Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) for a facility in the Southeast DAC (SEDAC) Hub to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere by capturing 50,000 tonnes per year of CO2 from the air. The SEDAC Hub will be located in Mobile County, AL. In addition to abating local emissions, the SEDAC Hub will lead to the development of a carbon reduction ecosystem that brings well-paying, skilled jobs to the Gulf South region, while reducing global atmospheric CO2.
8 Rivers’ cutting-edge Calcite DAC technology uses a calcium sorbent to capture CO2 directly from the air and sequester it safely underground. The proprietary Calcite process enhances the natural carbon absorbing properties of hydrated lime, reacting it with ambient air to form limestone. The limestone is then heated by an oxygen-fired kiln, which separates the CO2 for sequestration and produces additional hydrated lime to be recycled into the system. 8 Rivers’ Calcite facility will serve as an anchoring technology for the SEDAC Hub and a key component of the global push for Net Zero by 2050.
“8 Rivers is proud to be selected for the DAC Hub Program in this pivotal moment for direct air capture amidst the global push for decarbonization,” said 8 Rivers CEO Cam Hosie. “Scalable and affordable carbon removal technology is vital to reaching Net Zero by 2050. Calcite is an ideal technology for accelerating the scale-up of direct air capture as a key solution for hard-to-abate industries and can grow to achieve gigaton-scale removal. We look forward to accelerating the deployment of Calcite with the support of the US Department of Energy in Mobile County.”
8 Rivers invented Calcite in 2019 and has been advancing the technology with initial funding from the DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy FLECCS program, initial carbon removal purchases from Frontier, and a $1M prize award from XPRIZE for Carbon Removal.
The SEDAC Hub is led by the Southern States Energy Board in coordination with site host Alabama Power Company. The Project Team includes 8 Rivers, Aircapture, Crescent Resource Innovation, ENTECH Strategies, Georgia Tech, Mitternight, RTI International, the University of Alabama, and the University of South Alabama. Stakeholders include Southern Company, Tenaska Sequestration Solutions, and the Mobile Chamber of Commerce, among many others.
According to the International Energy Authority’s Net Zero by 2050 Scenario DAC technologies are projected to capture more than 85 million tonnes of CO2 in 2030 and around 980 million tonnes of CO2 in 2050. This growth requires a large and accelerated scale-up from just thousands of tonnes of DAC today. Technologies like Calcite need to be deployed rapidly to meet climate goals. Federal investment into the SEDAC Hub and other projects will help catalyze DAC buildout, enabling 8 Rivers and its technologies to help pave the path to net zero.
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ABOUT 8 RIVERS CAPITAL, LLC: 8 Rivers Capital, LLC is a Durham, North Carolina–based climate technology company leading the energy industry towards achieving net zero. Founded in 2008, 8 Rivers is pioneering the clean energy and climate future through the invention and commercialization of infrastructure-scale technologies that enable the global energy transition. 8 Rivers develops technologies and delivers projects across multiple energy categories including but not limited to: Clean Fuels: ultra-low carbon hydrogen and ammonia production. Clean Power: transformative zero-emissions power cycles. Carbon Removal: hyper-efficient direct air capture. Clean Industry: retrofit-ready post-combustion carbon capture for steel, cement, and power generation.