Google has signed a contract with the US company Holocene to purchase credits for carbon dioxide capture (Direct Air Capture/DAC). The company announced this in a blog post on September 10, 2024.
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For ten million US dollars, Holocene will filter carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the air for Google. The price is 100 US dollars per ton, which is the lowest price yet for this technology. The service is expected to be provided by the early 2030s.
Google states it is committed to helping decarbonize the global economy and reaching its goal of net-zero emissions. The company views DAC as a key technology for reducing CO₂ and aims to use this contract to enhance its climate change efforts. However, Google also notes in the blog post that DAC still has a long way to go before it becomes commercially viable.
Promising Approach to Reduce Costs
Despite concerns that the technology may be used for greenwashing, scientists estimate that long-term costs could be $300 to $400 per ton. For Google, the high price is a major hurdle that must be overcome to encourage more companies and governments to invest in DAC.
According to the blog post, Holocene’s technology is still in its early stages, but Google believes it has the potential to significantly reduce costs over time.
According to the description, Holocene uses amino acids and other organic compounds to continuously extract CO₂ from the air. After extraction, low-temperature heat from renewable sources is applied to the solid mass containing CO₂. The CO₂ released by the heat is then collected and stored underground.
Google views Holocene’s method of combining elements from both liquid and solid systems for carbon capture as a key factor that could help reduce costs in the long term.
