Scaling permanent carbon removals

What makes neustark's technology special?

We capture CO₂ produced at biogas plants during the production of methane from waste biomatter, that would otherwise be emitted into the atmosphere, then liquify and transport it to our nearby storage plants. There the CO₂ is mineralized in demolition concrete. The recycled, carbonated concrete granules can then be reused as recycled building materials to make roads or recycled concrete for buildings. And the removal is permanent – only temperatures above 600 degrees Celsius or very strong acids could release the stored CO₂ back into the atmosphere.

What is the potential scale of concrete-stored carbon removals?

The potential for net removals today is over 10 million tons a year in demolition concrete alone, but that could rise to 100 million tons a year by 2050 when the technology could be applied to other abundant mineral waste streams such as slag and incinerator bottom ash. We estimate this onshore carbon removal tech could contribute 5% of the CO₂ that needs to be removed to meet Paris climate targets in Switzerland by 2050.

What are the biggest challenges?

The technology we use is mature, but making it work in practical terms at scale, while meeting quality requirements, and at the same time building the business processes required to bring down costs is the challenge. The speed that we need to scale our solution and ultimately the climate impact, requires both the operational excellence of an established company and the business innovation of a fast-growing start-up. This will accelerate the learning curve which then expands the number of projects that are economically attractive, expanding the addressable market.

What are the building blocks needed to achieve scale?

Crucial building blocks for us to scale up our technology are a standardized model of the technology that can be rolled out in a repeatable way, bringing down costs; operational excellence and a strong sales process; and a market for our product. The big question is, is the market growing at the right pace, and is the willingness to pay for permanent removals high enough to scale the climate impact. We’ll need between 6 and 10 billion tons of carbon removal per year to counteract hard-to-abate emissions and reach Net Zero by 2050, according to the IPCC. Currently, we’re at a small fraction of that, especially when it comes to high-quality and permanent removals. Every country, every company will have to embed carbon removal in their climate strategies, next to massively reducing their emissions. The question is will it be quick enough to reach the needed scale in the next decades?

How is Switzerland helping to drive forward the technology and the market?

Switzerland is doing an excellent job at kicking off these capabilities at the university level, so the basic know-how is developed. And the politics, funding schemes, and climate laws are supportive. It is also a small ecosystem where you can test things, so a good market to get started. But internationalization is key to achieve scale, and that’s the challenge that various climate tech firms like neustark are currently facing. 

The interviewee is external to UBS and the answers provided do not necessarily reflect UBS’s view.

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