Amazon supports the world’s largest deployment of direct air capture technology to remove carbon from the atmosphere

Amazon Invests in Direct Air Capture to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals

To help accelerate the development of direct air capture (DAC) solutions, Amazon is purchasing carbon removal credits from 1PointFive and investing in CarbonCapture Inc. This DAC investment is part of Amazon’s Climate Pledge commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. Here’s more about this emerging technology and what it means for our environment.

Understanding Direct Air Capture

DAC is an emerging set of technologies that chemically scrub carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. The captured CO2 is then stored deep underground or used in applications such as building materials (like concrete, bricks, and cement) or low-carbon fuels.

Supporting Emerging Technologies

Amazon is supporting the world’s largest deployment of DAC technology by committing to purchase 250,000 metric tons of carbon removal over 10 years from STRATOS, 1PointFive’s first DAC plant. This is equivalent to the amount of carbon stored naturally across more than 290,000 acres of U.S. forests—roughly half the size of the state of Rhode Island. Carbon captured under this agreement will be stored deep underground in saline aquifers, which are large geological rock formations that are saturated in salt water.

• Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund is making an investment in CarbonCapture Inc., a climate technology company recognized for its pioneering modular DAC systems.
• These systems are designed to be easily upgraded over time with next-generation sorbents—the core materials responsible for filtering CO2 from the atmosphere—facilitating cost reductions driven by rapid material science advancements.

Combatting Climate Change

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world must remove roughly 1 trillion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere over the course of this century to keep global warming below the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit set by the Paris Agreement. Achieving this goal will require organizations to both evolve their operations, deploying technologies to reduce or eliminate emissions, and to capture CO2 that has already been emitted. While restoring natural systems can contribute significantly to this undertaking, technological solutions like DAC will also be required to capture and remove large volumes of CO2 from the air.

• With these new investments, DAC will become one component of Amazon’s broader sustainability strategy, which also includes developing nature-based solutions, such as forest conservation and restoration.

“Amazon’s primary focus is to decarbonize our global operations through our transition to renewable energy, building with more sustainable materials, and electrifying our delivery fleet and global logistics,” said Kara Hurst, vice president of worldwide sustainability at Amazon. “We are also pursuing changes such as reducing the weight of packaging per shipment for our customers. At the same time, we also need to seek every possible avenue to reduce carbon in the atmosphere. These investments in direct air capture complement our emissions reductions plans, and we are excited to support the growth and deployment of this technology.”

Investing in One of the World’s Largest DAC Purchase Agreements

1PointFive is currently constructing its first DAC plant in Ector County, Texas. When fully operational, the plant is expected to be the largest in the world and designed to capture up to 500,000 tons of CO2 annually. It will also use digital infrastructure from Amazon Web Services (AWS) to analyze real-time performance data and optimize operations, and enable 1PointFive to apply these learnings in its future DAC plants. This purchase agreement with Amazon is one of the largest ever for a DAC facility.

Accelerating the Commercial Deployment of DAC

Climate technology startup CarbonCapture is focused on accelerating innovation and scale in the DAC industry. The company’s patented modular open system architecture allows new sorbents to be swapped in as they become available. Maximizing sorbent performance is a key strategy for driving down the cost of DAC over time. In addition to an investment from Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, CarbonCapture will be making up to 100,000 tons of carbon removal credits available to the company, which Amazon plans to make available to businesses within the company and among its suppliers, selling partners, and customers.

“We’re extremely excited to be backed by a first-class venture investor like Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund,” said Adrian Corless, CarbonCapture’s CEO and chief technology officer. “Further, we’re looking forward to leveraging our relationship with Amazon to both democratize access and reduce the long-run cost of producing carbon removal credits.”

Learn more about Amazon’s sustainability efforts.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. SDG 13: Climate Action

   • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters
   • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning
   • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning
   • Target 13.4: Implement the commitment undertaken by developed countries to mobilize $100 billion annually for developing countries to address the needs of mitigation and adaptation
   • Target 13.5: Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States

   The article discusses Amazon’s commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, which aligns with SDG 13 on Climate Action. The investment in direct air capture (DAC) technology supports the targets of integrating climate change measures into national policies and strategies (Target 13.2) and improving education and awareness on climate change mitigation (Target 13.3).

2. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

   • Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
   • Target 7.3: Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency

   The article mentions Amazon’s focus on decarbonizing its global operations through the transition to renewable energy, which relates to SDG 7 on Affordable and Clean Energy. This aligns with the targets of increasing the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix (Target 7.2) and improving energy efficiency (Target 7.3).

3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

   • Target 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes

   The article mentions Amazon’s investment in CarbonCapture Inc., a climate technology company focused on modular DAC systems. This investment supports SDG 9 on Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, particularly the target of upgrading infrastructure and industries to make them sustainable with clean technologies (Target 9.4).

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Behold! This splendid article springs forth from the wellspring of knowledge, shaped by a wondrous proprietary AI technology that delved into a vast ocean of data, illuminating the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Remember that all rights are reserved by SDG Investors LLC, empowering us to champion progress together.

Source: aboutamazon.com

Join us, as fellow seekers of change, on a transformative journey at https://sdgtalks.ai/welcome, where you can become a member and actively contribute to shaping a brighter future.