Environment-friendly carbon capture

The Norwegian company has devoted seven years to developing this new solution for capturing carbon dioxide from low-concentration sources, based on a physical process involving no chemicals or fossil fuels. It has concentrated on demonstrating this technology, first with direct air capture (DAC).

GCS was established as a direct result of the climate summit in late 2015 and the consequent Paris agreement, which set clear targets for reducing the level of CO₂ in the atmosphere.

Wholly sustainable
One of the company’s founders, Tor Christensen, had long worked on conventional point capture of CO₂, and wanted to develop a new technology which was wholly sustainable and left none of the harmful waste often produced by chemical/amine capture.

The world’s first carbon capture pilot plant based on a physical process using minerals has been demonstrated by GCS. The captured CO₂ represents a raw material already in great demand from industry and agriculture.

By offering carbon capture directly from the air, the company can provide a better climate accounting for the end customer. Its attention is concentrated making DAC energy efficient and commercially competitive.

Big global market
Since GCS currently offers the only wholly environment-friendly capture solution on the market, the market opportunities are considerable and will be pursued through international partnerships.

Carbon capture is expected to become a big global market within a few years, in combination with either utilising the gas (CCU) or storing it (CCS).

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that capturing carbon from the air will rise from 70 million annual tonnes in 2030 to 630 million by 2050.

Three commercial solutions
GCS has passed several important technical milestones in recent years.

• 2019: Z10 pilot unit demonstrated a DAC plant in Norway, with an annual carbon capture capacity of 10 tonnes
• 2022: Z50 pilot DAC unit assembled and installed in Norway, with an annual carbon capture capacity of 50 tonnes
• 2023: The next upscaled unit is under development and due to be manufactured and installed at a customer site by early 2024.

The company is currently planning further development of three commercial solutions.

1. A commercial DAC unit to be tailored for the greenhouse market (agritech/agricultural technology) with low-purity CO₂ as the end product.
2. Tailoring the DAC unit to commercial projects in the growing market for carbon removal and power for X (high-purity CO₂) solutions. The X here can refer to power for one of the following – ammonia, chemicals, gas, hydrogen, liquids or methane.
3. Adapting the technology to suit a point-source system with carbon concentrations in the 0.5 to four per cent range.

In these verticals, GCS is collaborating with international companies to identify a suitable and scalable market adaptation.

Currently comprising a team of 13, it delivered its first commercial international project in 2022.