Carbon credits rating agency BeZero Carbon has awarded Swiss carbon removal specialist Climeworks with its first ever AAA rating.
Specifically, Climeworks received the rating for its Orca plant. Launched in September 2021, the plant is believed to be the world’s first and largest direct air capture (DAC) and storage plant.
The facility is made up of eight collector containers, with an annual capacity of around 500 tonnes each. Collectively, the containers give the plant a total capture capacity of up to 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per annum.
Read more: ‘World’s largest’ DAC and storage plant comes onstream in Iceland
BeZero Carbon’s rating is the industry’s highest. Climeworks’ Orca plant is the first ever to receive the AAA rating from BeZero Carbon.
In a statement, Climeworks said, “This prestigious rating from BeZero reflects the very high effectiveness of our projects in removing CO2 from the atmosphere.”
“As a leading independent carbon ratings agency, BeZero’s assessment, supported by a robust team of climate scientists, geospatial experts, and analysts, reinforces the exceptional impact of our work.”
Climeworks also recognised its partners for making the Orca plant, plus the AAA rating, achievable. The company mentioned its storage partner, Carbfix, which provides solutions for the secure and permanent storage of captured CO2, and carbon removal standard and registry firm Puro.earth.
Earlier this year (June 2023), Climeworks revealed its latest technological innovation to scale up to megatonne capacity.
To be deployed initially in the US, the Generation 3 technology will be deployed globally on ‘secured project sites’, with its design having been developed and validated over the past five years.
The Louisiana-based Project Cypress DAC hub will be the first plant to use Gen 3 technology, funded by the US Department of Energy. Construction is expected to start in 2026.
Read more: Climeworks unveils ‘next-gen’ DAC tech to reach megaton capacity
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