Milestone Carbon plans carbon capture, sequestration facility in Louisiana


Climeworks, already a leader in Europe in the technology needed to pull CO2 out of the air, joined a consortium petitioning for funds to build a similar facility in Louisiana. Image courtesy of Climeworks

March 21 (UPI) -- Adding its name to a growing chorus of voices, carbon abatement company Milestone Carbon said Tuesday it launched plans to build a carbon capture and sequestration facility in Louisiana.

Louisiana and the broader Gulf Coast region are adopting carbon abatement technology as the global energy sector tries to find a way to address climate concerns while still using the forms of energy that are available today.

Milestone said it was interested in developing carbon storage technology on 46,000 acres of land in Louisiana's Terrebonne Parish. The company said it could store "hundreds of millions of tons" of carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas, in underground geological formations.

"Louisiana has many of the critical elements for successful carbon capture projects, including great geology, strong policy support, and significant industrial emissions," said Milestone Carbon Senior Vice President Chris Davis.

RELATED Norway sees strong energy sector interest in offshore carbon storage

Milestone's is but one of the many carbon storage projects planned for Louisiana. Billions of dollars in investments are going toward commercial-scale developments, which was heralded late last year by Gov. John Bel Edwards.

"The collaboration and innovation to bring carbon capture and storage technology forward at this scale reaffirms our state's ability to grow our economy without sacrificing our long-term emission-reduction goals to net zero by 2050," he said.

Last week, Battelle, Climeworks and Heirloom Carbon submitted their proposal to the Energy Department to secure funds from last year's bipartisan Inflation Reduction Act to support the development of the planned Project Cypress direct air capture (DAC) hub along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

RELATED Denmark awards first-ever contracts for carbon storage offshore

DAC technology uses large fans to blow air through a solution of potassium hydroxide to pull CO2 from the atmosphere.

Climeworks has already built two carbon capture facilities similar to what's proposed for Louisiana. The first can pull 900 tons of CO2 from the air each year for use in greenhouses. Its second facility can capture 50 tons per year, which the company plans to bury in basalt formations deep beneath Earth's surface.