Los Angeles, California (October 24, 2023) – Carbon removal company has joined the list of TIME inventions that will change the world. In a single scalable process, Equatic’s climate solution enables low cost decarbonization with atmospheric carbon removal and green hydrogen production at a massive scale.
Deploying technology created and developed at UCLA’s Institute for Carbon Management, Equatic accelerates and amplifies the ocean’s inherent ability to absorb and permanently store massive amounts of carbon. Simultaneously, Equatic produces carbon-negative hydrogen, a clean energy that can be used to eliminate carbon emissions from industrial processes and transportation, to create Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) and to power the Equatic process itself.
“Equatic’s cutting-edge technology is ready to play a big role in achieving global net zero and carbon negative solutions,” says Lorenzo Corsini, Principal Advisor at Equatic. "As the only company on the Best Inventions list that can both remove carbon dioxide and produce green hydrogen, we are working hard to help companies and global economies address both legacy and future emissions.”
Equatic currently operates two carbon removal pilot systems in Los Angeles and Singapore, respectively. One hundred percent of the carbon dioxide removed from these pilots has been pre-sold to companies such as Stripe. In May 2023,Equatic announced a pre-purchase option agreement to remove 62,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide and deliver 2,100 metric tons of carbon-negative hydrogen to The Boeing Company. 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.
To compile the list of best inventions, TIME solicited nominations from its editors and correspondents around the world and through an online application process. Special attention was given to growing fields such as AI, green energy and sustainability. Following the nomination, contenders were assessed acrossmultiple criteria, including originality, efficacy, ambition and impact.
In June 2023, TIME published a story about the ocean being the next frontier for the carbon removal industry. Ocean water already contains 150 times more carbon dioxide than the air does and absorbs one quarter of the world’s new carbon dioxide emissions each year. Equatic’s technology accelerates and amplifies this natural process to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and permanently store it. The entire removal process happens within the boundaries of an industrial carbon removal plant, enabling Equatic to precisely measure carbon removed with high certainty and accuracy.
“Accountability and transparency are paramount for Equatic and all other emerging climate solutions, ”says Erika La Plante, Equatic Co-Founder and Head of MRV & Environmental Impact Assessment, “By design, Equatic features a closed system to measure directly the quantity of carbon dioxide removed, rather than relying on open ocean models.” In August 2023, Equatic released a Statement on High-Quality Carbon Removal Credits alongside an industry-leading methodology for measurement, reporting and verification (“MRV”).
About the Equatic technology
Equatic’s carbon removal plants use four inputs (seawater, air, rock, and renewable electricity) to remove and store carbon dioxide while 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 carbon dioxide in solid minerals and as dissolved bicarbonate ions that are naturally found in the oceans, ensuring that the trapped carbon dioxide will remain stable for 10,000+years. Finally, Equatic uses rock to neutralize the processed seawater and ensure that the ocean’s chemistry is unaffected.
This patented process is the key to delivering scalable, high-quality carbon removal, permanent storage, and accessible, carbon-negative hydrogen fuel. It allows for:
● Gigaton-Scale Carbon Removal and Storage. Carbon removal requires carbon dioxide (1) capture, (2) transport, and (3) permanent storage. Seawater is unique in that it can do all three at once. Equatic amplifies this natural ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by leveraging the size and scale of the oceans and allows the oceans to serve as an enormous storage reservoir of carbon dioxide.
● 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. Combining carbon dioxide 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 our 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 for measurement, or to effect carbon removal. As such, Equatic is the only ocean-based carbon removal company that transparently measures removal with very high certainty. This enables the company to sell highly sought after, high-quality, permanent carbon removal credits.
For all CDR and Green Hydrogen sales enquiries, email sales@equatic.tech
For all press enquiries, email press@equatic.tech...
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