Climeworks’ new large-scale direct air capture plant ‘Orca’ has successfully achieved independent third-party validation from DNV. Permanent carbon dioxide removal is considered to be key to achieving global net zero climate targets and stringent carbon dioxide removal standards are urgently needed.
Orca is the first project that has been successfully validated according to all the requirements listed in ISO 14064-2 and the Climeworks methodology itself. The purpose of the methodology is to enable the issuing of quantifiable removals of CO2 from ambient air based on a full value chain from direct air capture to permanent storage.
The validated methodology covers the capture of CO2 from air and its preparation to be transported for the sole purpose of permanent geological storage, and is the first such third-party validation.
DNV was commissioned in 2020 by Climeworks to provide the validation at its direct air capture plant Orca. The validation was performed in December 2020 on the basis of a detailed project design documentation and the methodology provided by Climeworks in line with ISO 14064-2.
Orca combines Climeworks’ direct air capture technology with rapid underground mineralisation provided by its partner Carbfix. The plant, which is planned to be operational in 2021, will have a nominal capture capacity of 4000 tons of CO2 per year, which makes it the most climate-positive facility to date.
