Equatic technology developed by researchers at UCLA offers a dual solution for carbon dioxide removal and green hydrogen production, tackling climate change through innovative ocean-based processes. With plans for scaling up and commercial implementation, Equatic aims to significantly reduce carbon emissions and support global decarbonization efforts.
Ocean-Based Technology for Carbon Emission Reduction and Clean Hydrogen Production
Global efforts to combat climate change are addressing the dual challenge of ending fossil fuel dependence and reducing carbon emissions. Despite immediate cessation of emissions, the world could still exceed the 1.5°C warming threshold due to existing atmospheric carbon. Consequently, carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is essential alongside emission cuts.
Equatic Technology Overview
Equatic, developed by researchers including Gaurav Sant at UCLA, offers a dual solution: CDR and green hydrogen production through an ocean-based process. The ocean, which holds significantly more carbon than the atmosphere, absorbs around 27% of human-induced CO2 emissions, impacting marine ecosystems and contributing to issues like ocean acidification.
Equatic’s method involves passing seawater through an electrically charged mesh, making it alkaline and initiating chemical reactions that convert dissolved CO2 into minerals like limestone and magnesite. This process produces clean hydrogen as a byproduct and refurbishes seawater to absorb more CO2.
Development and Implementation
Initially proposed in a 2021 paper in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, the technology has moved from concept to early-stage implementation. With $30 million in investments from entities like the Grantham Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy, Equatic built pilot facilities in Los Angeles and Singapore, each capable of sequestering 100 kilograms of CO2 daily and generating small amounts of hydrogen.
Equatic plans to scale up, aiming to remove 100,000 tons of CO2 annually by 2026 and millions of tons by 2028, reducing costs to under $100 per ton. A commercial plant, Equatic-1, is under development in Singapore, expected to remove 109,500 tons of CO2 and produce 3,600 tons of carbon-negative hydrogen per year.
Future Prospects
A pre-purchase agreement with Boeing will see Equatic removing 62,000 metric tons of CO2 and providing 2,100 metric tons of hydrogen over five years, supporting Boeing’s decarbonization strategy.
Despite these advances, research from the University of East Anglia indicates that current CDR plans fall short of the targets needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C. A substantial increase in CDR efforts and other mitigation strategies, such as renewable energy and advanced carbon capture technologies, is necessary to close this emissions gap and achieve climate goals.
