Climeworks helps transforming CO2 into high-tech resource

A testing facility at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is set to investigate a new process aimed at reducing CO2 levels in the atmosphere. To this end, CO2 will initially be extracted from the ambient air, before eventually being transformed into a highly pure carbon black powder. This can then be used as a resource for high-tech applications.

Several research partners are involved in the project, as detailed in a press release. These include the Zurich-based start-up Climeworks. The company supplies the technology that allows CO2 to be extracted from ambient air.

Aside from reducing the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere and the production of a useful resource, the conversion of CO2 from the air into carbon black also entails additional environmental benefits. Up to now, carbon black had predominantly been produced using fossil petroleum.

Climeworks is a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH). The technology developed by the start-up is also featured in other projects, for which the CO2 extracted from the air is being used in various different ways, for example in the production of clean kerosene and to create fizz in drinking water. The aim of Climeworks is to remove around 1 percent of the global CO2 emissions from the air by 2025.