Leading direct air capture company CarbonCapture Inc. and W. L. Gore & Associates announce multi-year collaboration to develop advanced structured sorbents for atmospheric carbon removal

LOS ANGELES, CA, and NEWARK, DE, July 25, 2024—CarbonCapture Inc. (CarbonCapture) and W. L. Gore & Associates (Gore) today announced a multi-year collaboration to develop advanced structured sorbents for more efficient atmospheric carbon removal. Since early 2022, the companies have been working together on the development of advanced materials designed to economically remove large amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂). In June of this year, commercial quantities of next-generation structured sorbents developed because of the collaboration were incorporated in CarbonCapture’s Leo Series direct air capture (DAC) systems, demonstrating the capacity to capture over 500 tonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere annually.

Structured sorbents are materials shaped and/or packaged to efficiently capture and adsorb specific gases out of different media, such as CO₂ from air. Unlike traditional sorbents, e.g. beads, structured sorbents can capture CO₂ with greater efficiency due to their high surface area and relatively low pressure drop. CarbonCapture has designed its DAC systems to incorporate structured sorbents because they offer higher throughput, require lower operational energy, and can be manufactured in form factors that allow for plug-and-play upgrades.

“At CarbonCapture, we consider ourselves a materials science company as well as a DAC company,” said Saeb Besarati, Chief Technology Officer at CarbonCapture Inc. “Innovation in materials science will dramatically reduce DAC costs, and the key to innovation is a robust open partnership strategy with corporations, universities, start-ups, and national labs. I’m confident that the structured sorbents produced as a result of our collaboration with Gore represent today’s state-of-the art for DAC."

Gore and CarbonCapture are focused on solving separate, and distinct challenges associated with creating structured sorbents for DAC. Gore is drawing upon decades of experience in creating composite materials used in separation processes and challenging environments to develop advanced materials for DAC that excel at protecting sorbents against the degradation associated with using direct steam as a heating medium for regeneration. CarbonCapture drove the mechanical requirements and specifications for creating plug-and-play cartridges compatible with its open architecture DAC systems, enabling multiple generations of structured sorbents from Gore and other collaborators to be rapidly tested and deployed in the field—dramatically collapsing development timelines.

“The Leo Series containing Gore’s Structured Direct Air Capture Contactor represents a significant milestone both in the relationship between Gore and CarbonCapture Inc. and in the deployment of DAC as a viable, scalable carbon removal technology,” said Christine Scotti, Gore’s direct air capture product specialist and project lead. “Gore’s composite materials enable and enhance a variety of sorbent technologies, creating the scalable solutions necessary to continue to advance and bring the full potential of direct air capture technology to reality. Such solutions will only be accelerated by strong collaboration among technology providers and DAC developers.”

# # #

About CarbonCapture Inc.

CarbonCapture develops and deploys direct air capture (DAC) machines that can be connected in large arrays to remove massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. With a patented modular open systems architecture, the company’s DAC systems allow for mass production, plug-and-play upgrades, and unlimited scalability. For more information, please visit carboncapture.com

Media contact: media@carboncapture.com

About Gore