280 Earth Operates Direct Air Capture Facility, Closes $50M Project Funding

280 Earth completed construction and kicked-off operations at its DAC facility in The Dalles, OR to capture CO₂ for underground storage or use as a feedstock for industrial applications, including synthetic fuels, carbon-negative concrete, and food production. The Oregon facility is a commercial demonstration of low-cost DAC research and development conducted by X, The Moonshot Factory, and Alphabet’s innovation lab.

“280 Earth’s technology will be a key contributor to the portfolio of solutions necessary to reduce CO₂ in our atmosphere and it’s a strategic advantage to have the financial support and insight of Builders VC and other investors to bring this technology to its commercial stage,” said John Pimentel, Chief Executive Officer of 280 Earth. “We also could not succeed without our local partners including the Port of The Dalles, Wasco County, The City of The Dalles, and the State of Oregon to collaborate in bringing this important project to life.”

280 Earth also closed a $50 million Series B funding round led by Builders VC with investments from Gideon Yu and Alphabet. This financing will allow 280 Earth to scale-up its DAC technology and projects as more carbon capture and sequestration facilities arrive.

Phase 1 of the commercial demonstration facility will capture water and up to 500 tons of CO₂ per year from ambient air. The CO₂ will then be liquefied and sequestered off-site or used for industrial processes, while water can be applied to cooling and additional end uses. It is equipped with instrumentation to validate 280 Earth’s technological scale-up strategy as the company moves toward a 5,000 ton per year module.

Direct aircapture factory in The Dalles, OR; Image Credits: 280 Earth

“Our first DAC project deploys a very energy efficient process to capture CO₂ directly from the air,” said Jacques Gagne, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of 280 Earth. “As a result, our net carbon benefit will be among the best in this rapidly developing industry.”

The DAC installation uses low-carbon content electricity produced from hydropower on the local grid, maximizing regional environmental benefits. 280 Earth’s low-temperature desorption process can also minimize energy consumption by utilizing waste heat from local third-party industrial operations.

Although DAC technology serves as an alternative method to traditional carbon capture and storage (CCS), the processes can be integrated with one another to further mitigate carbon emissions. The Global CCS Institute noted accelerating momentum for CCS in industries beyond the lower-cost applications of gas processing, ethanol, and ammonia production. CCS is being integrated into industries such as cement, steel, chemical plants, power plants, and even carbon-removal technologies, such as DAC, bioenergy with CCS (BECCS), and waste-to-energy plants.

280 Earth’s project implements a primary factory of typical CCS operations—geological storage. Considerable geological storage resource development is underway in the United States, with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) receiving many Class VI permit applications. As of March 15, 2024, 130 well permit applications for 44 projects were under review and an additional 69 well permit applications for 33 projects were being reviewed in states that have Class VI primary enforcement authority (Louisiana, Wyoming, and North Dakota).