Airbus invests in climate solutions company, Carbon Engineering to support world’s largest direct air carbon capture R&D facility

Airbus invests in Carbon Engineering Ltd., a Canadian-based climate solutions company, operating the largest Direct Air Carbon Capture (DACC) Research & Development facility in the world.  The investment will contribute to funding part of Carbon Engineering’s advanced direct air capture R&D technologies at the company’s Innovation Centre in Squamish, B.C., Canada. 

Daniel Friedmann, CEO, Carbon Engineering, commented: “Carbon Engineering’s Direct Air Capture technology provides a scalable, affordable solution to decarbonize aviation. We are thankful to Airbus for taking action and continuing to lead the way by helping accelerate solutions for the industry and for the climate.”

Karine Guenan, VP ZEROe Ecosystem, Airbus, said: “We are proud to be investing in Carbon Engineering, reaffirming our commitment to the use of direct air carbon capture as a two-fold solution for the decarbonisation of the aviation industry.” 

DACC is a high-potential technology that involves capturing CO2 emissions directly from the air using high powered fans. Once removed from the air, the CO2 can be used to produce power-to-liquid Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) that is drop-in compatible with today’s aircraft.  As the aviation industry cannot capture all CO2 emissions released into the atmosphere at source, captured atmospheric CO2 can also be safely and permanently stored in geologic reservoirs. This latter carbon removal solution would allow the sector to extract the equivalent amount of emissions from its operations directly from the air, thereby counterbalancing residual emissions. 

The investment in Carbon Engineering is a key part of Airbus’ global climate strategy, which encourages the development and deployment of direct air capture technology, among a number of technological pathways in support of the aviation industry’s decarbonisation ambitions. The transaction is also a key element of Airbus’ strategy to grow its contribution to the Canadian economy. Airbus supports the recently-launched Clean Technology Key Industrial Capability in Canada, under the Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy.

For more information on Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage, click here.