Pledge and AspiraDAC Announce Partnership to Scale Pioneering Direct Air Capture Technology
London, 24 October 2022 - Pledge, the leading marketplace for verified offsets and frontier carbon removal technologies, is partnering with AspiraDAC, an innovative Direct Air Capture (DAC) company based in Australia, to offer AspiraDAC’s pioneering carbon removal solutions to companies across the globe.
AspiraDAC is developing a first-of-its-kind Direct Air Capture (DAC) project using modular and scalable solar-powered units coupled with permanent geological storage.
AspiraDAC is committed to sequestering one tonne of carbon per working day (around 310 tonnes per year) for its first project. Located in South-East Australia, the project harnesses the country’s ideal conditions for solar energy combined with proximity to geological sequestration sites, with no reliance on traditional energy sources.
One of the biggest advantages of DAC over other carbon removal technologies is the relatively small amount of land required. Typically, when coupled with geological storage, DAC can provide permanence of 10,000+ years. This is significantly more than a reforestation project where the permanence is limited to the lifespan of the tree species (e.g. 20-100 years).
AspiraDAC’s partnership with Pledge will play a crucial role in further democratising and scaling a technology which is recognised as being key to reaching global emissions targets. The IEA's report has highlighted that in order to reach Net Zero by 2050, we’ll need to scale carbon removals to capture more than 980 megatons of carbon dioxide annually.
“Pledge is removing barriers to access for this carbon removal solution by allowing all customers, no matter the size, to access and help scale this technology,” says David de Picciotto, CEO and co-founder at Pledge. “We believe in providing integrated solutions, much like Aspira has done by combining the DAC infrastructure with solar panels, thereby addressing one of the key criticisms of this technology, namely the energy source used. ”
Julian Turecek, Executive Director of AspiraDAC, said, "The compact nature of our DAC facilities means production can capture equivalent CO2 emissions using a fraction of the land needed in reforestation carbon capture projects.”
“While it is not without challenges, DAC technology in partnerships with companies such as Pledge will catalyse further development of the sector across the globe.”
“This will increase our ability to bring down the costs per tonne of carbon to a competitive level to take removal to a megatonne scale within the next decade, and gigatonne scale the decade following,” said Turecek.
Pledge's infrastructure enables the fractionalisation of carbon offsets, allowing customers to purchase as little as grams of carbon removal. It offers AspiraDAC the potential to expand its audience and demand for credits across clients who may otherwise not have the access to it. We look forward to the scaling of this key technology, which will eventually bring down the cost. This in turn will give access to even wider audiences and contribute to the goal of reaching Net Zero no later than 2050.
About Pledge
Pledge has built an integrated suite of climate tools for businesses to incorporate trusted carbon measurement, reduction and carbon removal capabilities into their customer offering quickly and easily. By giving customers the tools they need to understand and reduce their climate impact, businesses can meet demand for ESG initiatives, win new business and build a talented, purpose-driven workforce. Pledge leverages tens of thousands of data points to calculate emissions in line with the strictest standards and uses independent experts and registries to rigorously vet all offsetting projects.
About AspiraDAC
AspiraDAC is pioneering a global first of its kind Direct Air Capture (DAC) project using modular and scalable renewable energy (solar) powered units to enable permanent geological storage. This project will be a stepping stone to place AspiraDAC and Australia in a unique position to play a leading role in this emerging industry by harnessing Australia’s ideal conditions for solar energy, due to high solar intensity and close proximity to some of the world’s best geological sequestration sites.