• Airbus and seven airlines want to rid the atmosphere of some of the CO2 emitted by aviation.

  • They announce their cooperation with an American operator to build a capture station and a huge storage silo in Texas.

  • Aviation is currently responsible for 2% to 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Giant fans, solar panels and a silo 2,000 meters underground.

This futuristic installation, under construction in the plain of Texas, is none other than a huge vacuum cleaner to take CO2 directly from the atmosphere.

The commissioning in 2024 of this science fiction powerhouse was announced Monday by Airbus and seven airlines (Air Canada, Air France-KLM, easyJet, IAG, Latam, Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic) at the Farnborough Airshow.

The partners have announced that they have concluded a contract with the specialized American firm 1PointFive, for this Texan equipment.

It's the emerging technology that can capture CO2 directly from the air - and the aviation industry is now taking notice 🕵️ to help us get closer to #netzero by 2050 🎯.


Find out more about how it works ➡️ https://t.co/ZG5aXduURJ @1PointFiveCCUS #DACCS #FIA2022 pic.twitter.com/u62ZTGrwlp

— Airbus (@Airbus) July 18, 2022


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While waiting for the green plane, the idea is to contribute to general decarbonization while aviation is responsible for 2% to 3% of global CO2 emissions and this industry committed last year to reach zero net CO2 emissions by 2050 to comply with the Paris agreement, which is supposed to limit global warming to +1.5°C.

It is counting in particular on the progressive use of green fuels but also on a form of compensation by purging the atmosphere of part of the emissions generated.

The technology, known as direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS – Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage) aims to capture CO2 in the air using powerful fans, powered by electricity from solar panels, and store it at a depth of nearly 2,000 meters.

A method criticized by NGOs

With a storage capacity of one million tonnes of CO2, the Texas site will be the largest specialized silo in the world, “the first on a megaton scale”.

At full capacity, it will be able to capture “up to one million tonnes of CO2 from the air per year”, or “the absorption capacity of 40 million trees”, indicate the partners in a press release.

“Direct carbon capture from the air is an emerging technology with enormous potential,” said easyJet's Head of Sustainability Jane Ashton.

“There is no miracle solution to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050,” added Nicolas Chrétien, sustainability and environment manager at Airbus.

"There will be residual emissions that will need to be removed permanently, that's what carbon capture is all about," he explained.

Our Aeronautical file

The stored carbon can be used to produce new fuel or stay on land.

But the CO2 capture and storage technique is criticized by some of the leading NGOs against global warming.

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