Using Swiss technology to store CO2 in Iceland

The Swiss company Climeworks has just opened in Iceland the world’s largest plant for the capture and permanent storage of carbon dioxide from the air. This technology is deemed essential for combating global warming, yet it raises some questions. What if, after decades of steady rise, global greenhouse gas emissions finally started to drop? Such is the hope of Climeworks, world leader in the technology for removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere (known as direct air capture, or DAC). After launching the first industrial plant for the capture and use of CO2 in 2017, the company is now setting a new milestone on the path to climate neutrality. On September 8 Climeworks inaugurated Orca, the world’s largest facility capable of filtering CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it permanently underground. Located near the Hellisheidi geothermal power plant in Iceland, it will be able to filter up to 4,000 tons of CO2 a year – equivalent to the annual emissions of 600 Europeans.