Solid Carbon: Storing CO2 in Deep Water Basalts as a Negative Emission Technology

Abstract:

In an era where reducing carbon emissions is not enough to keep global temperatures below humanely acceptable levels, there is an urgent need to develop technologies that remove CO₂ from the atmosphere and store carbon permanently and safely, through so-called Negative Emission Technologies (NETs). We are developing a concept that would combine Direct Air Capture (DAC) of CO₂ with storage of CO₂ in ocean basalt, on autonomous floating installations powered by sustainable in-situ offshore-generated energy. None of the required individual technologies are new but they have not been combined to form a feasible NET. One important primary aspect of this Solid Carbon project is the CO₂ storage in deep ocean basalt where over time the CO₂ will be mineralizing to form carbonate rock. We are modelling this process as well as developing a monitoring concept to eventually test this idea in the Cascadia Basin offshore Vancouver Island to demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of this climate solution. The test site has already been studied in terms of natural fluid flux through the ocean crust through drilling campaigns, and moreover is connected to the 500-km long cabled NEPTUNE observatory operated by Ocean Networks Canada to ensure controlled environmental monitoring before, during and after CO₂ sequestration in the area, thus making the Cascadia Basin an ideal test site for storing CO₂ in deep ocean basalt. Additional aspects of the ongoing feasibility study are the marinizing of DAC, and also social, regulatory and investor acceptance which are important to grow this idea into a fully operational endeavour over the next decade.