Call it a positive or a negative, but we humans do hold a tendency of being rather free-flowing. We rarely allow ourselves to function within a restrictive capacity, thus making sure that our chances of having a go at something bigger and better are always there. This piece of fact was what enabled us to create a product like technology. Born out of our own expansiveness, technology was able to widen our horizons in a way that actually complemented us. You see, when you bring such an extension to your existing abilities, a lot out there starts to look as achievable, and that’s exactly what happened. With smarter techniques flouting around different sectors, we saw each and every industry sort of going through a replenishment process. Be it healthcare, entertainment, finance or any other sphere, all of them took this opportunity and scaled up beyond any previously-made projections. Nevertheless, after dominating in the said respect, technology now looks poised to impact us in a very unusual yet major way. What’s more is that its pathway to do so is suddenly looking clearer than ever before.
The U.S. Department of Energy has finally announced the much awaited “Carbon Negative Shot” initiative. This whole initiative is structured around making CDR technologies (carbon-dioxide removal) more cost-effective and scalable. According to some reports, the plan is to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, while also making costs of such technology as low as $100 a ton.
“The combination of the Carbon Negative Shot with our massive investments in hydrogen, battery storage, renewables and decarbonized fossil energy, can make net-zero emissions a reality here and abroad,” said Jennifer.M.Granholm, Secretary of Energy.
CDR technologies aren’t new around the block, but their lack of financial viability has so far kept them in the shadows. Basically, the concept is driven by the purpose of drawing CO2 from the atmosphere through an assortment of strategies, therefore directly leading to a less heated planet. However, for it happen in a noteworthy manner, we need large scale deployment. To give you a gist of the current picture, we only have 19 direct air capture plants throughout the globe. It gets even grimmer once you realize that the biggest plant from the said pack can only draw upto 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, which roughly translates to emissions from 790 vehicles alone within a similar timeframe.
The complications don’t end there, as you also need to store the collected CO2 somewhere. To deal with it, DOE is actively looking for locations where it can store and monitor CO2 for at least 100 years. While Carbon Negative Shot is, by all means, a long-term project, it might be in for a real boost soon, depending on what happens with the Biden Administration’s infrastructure bill. The bill is reported to have an allocation of $3.5 billion for four new direct air capture hubs. Apart from that, it’s also aimed at solving the logistical issues with transferring CO2 to the storage location by allotting a hefty sum to the development of a pipeline network.