Put It Underground! American Airlines Partners With Bill Gates-Backed Startup To Capture And Store 10,000 Tons Of CO2

American Airlines signed a deal with a Bill Gates-backed climate startup to store CO2 underground. Graphite Inc. is a startup that will move 10,000 tons of climate-harming CO2 underground in the company's first commercial deployment. 

The partnership with Graphyte aligns with American Airlines’ broader sustainability goals, which include achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The airline views carbon capture and storage as a valuable tool in its arsenal of emissions reduction strategies. It is also replacing its fleet with newer, more fuel-efficient planes and investing in hydrogen as a potential low-waste fuel source. 

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Commercial aircraft fly at high altitudes, which amplifies the effects of emissions that can impact cloud formation and cause pollutants to remain in the atmosphere for long periods. Transitioning to more sustainable fuels and participating in carbon removal can reduce aircraft operators' environmental impacts. 

Graphyte’s technology involves capturing carbon dioxide from the air or industrial sources and then injecting it deep underground into geological formations. Once stored underground, the carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere, preventing it from contributing to climate change.

Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), a venture capital fund founded by a coalition of influential leaders including Gates, backs Graphyte. BEV seeks groundbreaking solutions across various sectors, from clean energy to agriculture.

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ACME AtronOmatic is another innovative startup using technology to help clients meet their goals. It offers an advanced weather solution that can predict weather and environmental-related threats with enhanced accuracy and visuals. 

The first commercial deployment of Graphyte’s carbon capture and storage technology will take place at its facility in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The company will capture and store 10,000 tons of carbon for American Airlines by 2025. In return, American Airlines receives carbon removal credits for each ton as well as a story it can use to promote its sustainability efforts. 

Carbon capture and storage have the potential to play a significant role in reducing the industry’s environmental footprint, and this collaboration demonstrates the airline’s commitment to innovation and sustainability.

“This is a landmark agreement for both Graphyte and American Airlines," Graphyte CEO Barclay Rogers said in a press release. "It demonstrates the growing demand for affordable and scalable high-quality carbon removal credits and the ability of carbon casting technology to make a significant impact in the fight against climate change in the very near term.”

Graphyte employs a strategy known as carbon casting. This method preserves plant matter, essentially mummifying it to prevent decay and the subsequent release of carbon dioxide absorbed during plants’ photosynthesis phase. 

The process begins with the collection of biomass sourced from agricultural and timber production waste. The plant matter dries to eliminate moisture and microbes, hindering decomposition. The dried biomass is then packed into bricks and enveloped in an environmentally safe, impermeable barrier to prevent any reinitiation of decomposition. When placed underground, Graphyte asserts the capability to store the absorbed carbon dioxide for a millennium.

Graphyte claims it can capture carbon for $100 per ton, which is often cited as a marker that makes removal financially feasible at scale. The company notes it uses less energy than competitive firms that pull CO2 out of the air or the oceans, which require considerable amounts of energy to run machinery and limit the net climate change benefits.

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