Global Thermostat unveils one of the world's largest units for removing carbon dioxide directly from air
Announces Colorado as global headquarters as it scales to address growing demand for climate solutions
COMMERCE CITY, Colo., April 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Thermostat, a pioneer of carbon removal technology to address climate change, today unveiled one of the largest Direct Air Capture machines ever operated. The unit has been capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere since the end of 2022 with a capacity of over 1,000 tons a year, the threshold to qualify for a tax credit under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, and is the first of many planned.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, U.S. House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Trisha Miller, Senior Director of the White House Climate Policy Office, and other senior officials attended the launch event at the company's new headquarters in Commerce City, north of Denver.
"Colorado is home to an incredible ecosystem of clean energy leaders, research labs and cleantech companies all working to protect our planet," said Gov. Polis. "We are thrilled to have the addition of Global Thermostat's headquarters and new Direct Air Capture plant joining this growing industry in Colorado. We know that to reach our climate goals and protect the future of our planet, we must use every tool available, and Direct Air Capture is an important strategy that will help ensure we achieve this."
Founded in 2010, Global Thermostat is the most advanced U.S-based Direct Air Capture technology company. Since 2020 it has operated a Technology Center at this location, where a team of scientists and engineers has focused on scaling its technology to remove carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere at increasingly large volumes. The machine unveiled today is a commercial-scale demonstration, and Global Thermostat is now taking orders for more.
"Global Thermostat's cutting-edge technology will help Colorado shift into putting carbon back into the ground," said current U.S. Sen. (and former Colorado Governor) John Hickenlooper. "This is a great example of how oil and gas workers will be a part of our Great Transition."
"This is a watershed moment in the fight against climate change," said Global Thermostat CEO Paul Nahi. "Global Thermostat is poised to lead this fight by deploying our best-in-class Direct Air Capture technology to provide both carbon removal and air-based carbon for valuable products we use across our economy."
"The science is settled. It is undeniable that we need to remove hundreds of billions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and eliminate new emissions to protect our climate," Nahi said. "At Global Thermostat, we are committed to offering the most efficient and cost-effective Direct Air Capture solution. We've proven our technology works, and now we're bringing it to market. We will help stabilize the temperature of the planet by creating a global industry utilizing and sequestering carbon."
The capture capacity of the new Global Thermostat unit is the largest in the United States, and one of the largest in the world. Its team of over 30 engineers, technicians, and operators, some of them previously employed in the oil and gas industries, were joined by elected officials, corporate partners, investors, and environmental NGO leaders to celebrate the achievement.
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado released a statement that, "As a national leader of clean energy and an emerging hub for carbon removal solutions, Colorado is the perfect home for Global Thermostat's global headquarters."
"Global Thermostat's innovative technology is exactly the type of approach we sought to support when we passed the Inflation Reduction Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and CHIPS Act last Congress," Bennet said. "With these investments from Washington, Global Thermostat will boost its capacity and expand its workforce in Colorado, all while pioneering cutting-edge Direct Air Capture tools to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This is what confronting climate change looks like."
Global Thermostat's patented solid adsorption process has been rigorously refined and tested over the last 10 years to address the primary technical challenges associated with Direct Air Capture, namely the ability to process large volumes of air and provide the energy for regeneration as cost-effectively as possible. It uses highly efficient industrial fans to blow ordinary air through proprietary contactors that bind to carbon dioxide, which is then separated out with low-temperature heat.
"Our solution is designed to enable low operating and capital costs along with maximum modularity and flexibility for a broad range of operating conditions," said Nicholas Eisenberger, Global Thermostat's Head of Market Development, Policy and Engagement. "We believe Global Thermostat not only has a fundamentally advantaged solution, it is also one of the most advanced Direct Air Capture companies in the world."
The U.S. Department of Energy is supporting the technology's progress toward even larger capacity devices. A 2021 DOE grant is funding Global Thermostat's work with several leading engineering firms to develop the design for a Direct Air Capture plant with an annual capacity of 100,000 tons, which is expected to be completed this year. "We'll require machines that capture millions, and ultimately billions of tons of carbon dioxide to address climate change, and our technology will scale to meet the planet's needs," Nahi said.
In the past year, Global Thermostat has made significant advances in its technology and product development capabilities, adding additional staff and state-of-the art testing facilities to its headquarters. Last September, the company also brought on Nahi, previously CEO of Enphase Energy, which he took from a small start-up in 2007 to a publicly traded global solar company with over 1,000 employees and $325 million in annual revenues in 2017.
The company will supply manufactured units to customers and designs for the balance of plant and utilities to service the units, allowing customers to work with their preferred engineering, procurement and construction firms for specific projects.
Tokyo Gas, the leading Japanese utility, announced in January that it will pursue its net-zero goals for decarbonization by investing in Global Thermostat, implementing its technology, and seeking to sequester the carbon removed or reuse it in low-carbon synthetic fuels.
Direct Air Capture of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere has generated intense interest since Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which President Biden signed into law last August. It more than tripled the tax credits for capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide using Direct Air Capture to $180 per ton, plus $130 per ton used in products, such as building materials like concrete.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed in November 2021 provided $3.5 billion to fund four regional Direct Air Capture hubs, in which Global Thermostat will look to participate. In addition, the CHIPS Act signed last August provided $1 billion for further research and development of carbon removal by the U.S. Department of Energy.
The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned in its latest report released March 20 that the world will pass a critical threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming within 10 years unless more measures are quickly taken to limit the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
About Global Thermostat
Global Thermostat's mission is to continually innovate and globally deploy the world's best Direct Air Capture technologies. With our multi-patented portfolio of solutions for capturing and removing CO2 directly from the atmosphere, Global Thermostat is working to help restore Earth's climate by reducing carbon dioxide at a global scale for the benefit of all. Follow Global Thermostat on LinkedIn and Twitter, and learn more at www.globalthermostat.com.
SOURCE Global Thermostat
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