Prometheus Fuels, a venture-backed energy company based in the US, announced that it has achieved the world’s lowest-cost carbon capture, reducing the cost of Direct Air Capture (DAC) by more than 80% compared to industry averages.
DAC technology, listed by the IEA as a key carbon removal option in the transition to a net-zero energy system, extracts CO2 directly from the atmosphere for use as a raw material or permanently removed when combined with storage.
While poised to significantly contribute to carbon removal, however, DAC faces cost barriers, with Prometheus noting that most DAC systems currently cost between $200 and $600 per ton. The high cost also makes it difficult for synthetic fuels produced with DAC to compete with traditional energy sources.
Founded in 2019, California-based Prometheus produces fuels that are carbon neutral, made from direct air capture and renewable electricity, through a process known as reverse combustion, that turns captured CO2 into fuel. Prometheus uses a carbon capture tower to collect CO2 and water molecules, which are sent into a “Faraday Reactor” hydrocarbon electrolyzer, and taken apart using solar and wind-based energy, turning the molecules back into oxygen and fuel. The company’s “Maxwell Core” nanotube membrane then uses nanotube pores to extract the fuel from the remaining water, producing a high-octane carbon neutral fuel that can power data centers, factories, ships, vehicles, and aircraft.
The achievement was demonstrated at Prometheus’ new 200-ton-per-year DAC system, currently under construction and scheduled for completion this year. According to Prometheus, its process demonstrated at the facility reduces energy use and costs by bypassing traditional gas purification, compression, absorption and desorption, and infrastructure requirements.
The company reported its DAC process now costs less than US$50 per ton of CO2, a figure that could make carbon neutral fuels price-competitive with fossil fuels without subsidies. Prometheus said that its DAC costs and fuel economics were independently validated by global engineering firm Ramboll.
The company also noted that its modular units can operate off-grid and be placed wherever renewable electricity is most affordable, unlike systems dependent on smokestacks or bio-derived carbon.
Rob McGinnis, Founder and CEO of Prometheus, said:
“Low-cost DAC unlocks the best solar locations, far away from point sources of CO2. By developing a new low-cost DAC technology, along with our hydrocarbon electrolysis Faraday Reactor, we have brought carbon capture below $50 a ton and made truly affordable e-fuels possible for the first time.”
Prometheus’ investors include Maersk, BMW, Y Combinator, and several leading technology entrepreneurs.
