Southern California Gas Co, commonly known as SoCalGas, and Captura, a carbon removal company founded at Caltech, have jointly announced the deployment of an innovative, direct ocean carbon removal technology that uses 100% renewable energy and ocean water to draw down surplus atmospheric CO2.
Captura plans to scale up the technology to remove millions of tons of atmospheric CO2. The advanced technology could help remove carbon from the atmosphere and accelerate California’s climate goals.
The technology was recently installed at Caltech’s Kerckhoff Marine Lab in Newport Beach and marks the first time the Captura system will be operating in ocean water conditions. Over the next few months, researchers will test and validate the energy efficiency costs and purity of the extracted CO2.
“Just like solar panels, wind turbines, and clean fuels, carbon removal technologies will be essential tools in the clean energy transition,” said Neil Navin, SoCalGas vice president for clean energy innovations. “Supporting innovations like the Captura technology helps utilities like SoCalGas plan for the infrastructure investments that will be needed to reach California’s climate goals affordably and reliably.”
“The climate crisis is already having a staggering impact on California, from droughts and wildfires to heat waves and other catastrophic weather events,” said Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris. “These impacts are only expected to intensify, posing a significant threat to public health and our economy. State leaders need to deploy the full range of technologies available to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon removal, which leading experts have identified as a critical component of any successful strategy to meet our climate goals.”
“Captura’s process removes a measurable stream of CO2 from the ocean. We then return that de-carbonized water back into the ocean, which then absorbs the same quantity of CO2 from the air. The CO2 stream we produce can then be permanently sequestered or utilized in products,” said Steve Oldham, CEO of Captura. “We are grateful for the support that SoCalGas has provided Captura, enabling this initial pilot demonstration and assisting us in quickly scaling up the technology.”
SoCalGas research has found that carbon management tools like Captura’s, when combined with electrification and clean fuels like hydrogen and renewable natural gas, deliver the most affordable, resilient, and technologically proven path to full carbon neutrality.
In 2021, SoCalGas joined the U.S. Department of Energy to fund testing of a first-of-its-kind direct air capture technology that captures carbon dioxide from the air while simultaneously collecting water that can be reused for irrigation. The company has a dozen carbon management projects in its Research, Development & Demonstration portfolio, designed to develop new tools to help with decarbonization and net-zero innovation.
