LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Avnos, Inc. (Avnos), the Los Angeles-based company developing the novel Hybrid Direct Air Capture (HDAC™) technology for carbon dioxide removal, today began its first operational commercial pilot project in Bakersfield, California. Developed in partnership with Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) and with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the HDAC pilot delivers the world’s first water-positive Direct Air Capture (DAC) solution. In launching this system, Avnos has inverted the water paradigm in DAC – producing 5 tons of liquid distilled water per ton of CO2 captured, as compared to 5-10 tons of water consumption per ton of CO2 captured in other DAC approaches. As a result, Avnos opens the geographic and climatic operating range for DAC to many more regions around the globe. The Bakersfield pilot will capture approximately 30 tons of atmospheric carbon dioxide and produce 150 tons of water per year.
“This announcement marks a pivotal juncture for both our company and the industry,” said Will Kain, Chief Executive Officer at Avnos. "Removing legacy carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere is essential to addressing the negative effects of our changing climate, one of the most pressing issues of our lifetime. Doing so without further strain on our natural resources is something that the team at Avnos has worked tirelessly to achieve. We take a great deal of pride in launching this pilot, thereby proving the efficacy and scalability of our unique HDAC solution.”
Based on research from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the proprietary Avnos HDAC technology innovates in several key areas of the DAC space. Capturing water from the atmosphere allows Avnos to leverage a first-of-a-kind moisture-swing CO2 adsorbent material, which in turn eliminates the need for heat input and reduces energy consumption by more than 50% as compared to other DAC technologies. These enhancements reduce operating costs, boost resource efficiency, and make HDAC more robust in more geographies, all while generating an additional value stream – a first in the industry.
“The ability to scale carbon management projects while advancing the underlying technologies could be critical to achieving the state’s ambitious goal of sequestering 100 million metric tons of CO2 by 2045,” says Neil Navin, Chief Clean Fuels Officer at SoCalGas. “Carbon management, if developed at scale, could help reduce carbon emissions, improve air quality, and represents a tremendous opportunity for economic development and the creation of high-quality jobs.”
"Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in a water and energy-efficient manner was a key reason for the early research into HDAC technology," said Pete McGrail, retired Laboratory Fellow at PNNL. "It is exciting to see that initial idea come to life through deployment of this HDAC demonstration system. The operational experience being gained is critical to scaling up HDAC technology for applications that can have real impact in meeting net carbon emission reduction goals."
This project follows a recent $80M strategic partnership announcement between Avnos, ConocoPhillips, JetBlue Technology Ventures, the corporate venture capital division of JetBlue, and Shell Ventures LLC, the US venture capital arm of Shell aimed at expediting the implementation of Avnos's distinctive approach.
About Avnos
Avnos was founded with a singular focus on developing and deploying the most resource-efficient, geographically flexible, and cost-effective technology in the Direct Air Capture (DAC) market. Using a pioneering moisture-responsive CO2 adsorbent, our novel Hybrid Direct Air Capture (HDAC™) technology produces water as it captures CO2 and eliminates the need for external heat input. Based on intellectual property from leading institutions, including Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Avnos has been awarded multi-million-dollar projects from the U.S. Department of Energy to demonstrate its HDAC solution in the field, and from the U.S. Office of Naval Research to pilot CO2 capture and e-fuels production.
For more information, please visit www.avnos.com