(CNN) - In the heart of the Pacific Ocean, an island owned by the late American actor Marlon Brando has paved the way for a new technology that may contribute to reducing a global environmental problem.
About a decade ago, oceanographers Alex Gagnon and Julian Sachs, co-founders of the US company Baño Carbon, were studying the impact of ocean acidification on coral reefs on the island of Techaroa, north of Tahiti.
There, they realized that their research might hold a solution to a global climate crisis.
“We were having to transport large amounts of carbon to and from seawater,” said Gagnon, an associate professor at the University of Washington.
He added that this prompted him and his colleague Sachs to ask: “What if we reversed this process, so that we could remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?”
In Western Australia, the company recently set up a pilot unit to test a technology that uses dyes and sunlight to pull carbon out of the atmosphere.
“We are the only one that relies on sunlight to remove carbon dioxide,” Gagnon told CNN.
Traditional methods, such as planting trees, dominate the atmospheric carbon removal sector, but interest is growing in innovative techniques, including spreading crushed rock to stimulate chemical reactions, adding “biochar” to the soil, and drawing carbon dioxide directly from the air, a technology developed by Paneo Carbon.
“We are seeing a boom in attempts to develop different technologies,” said Steve Smith, an associate professor at the University of Oxford who specializes in greenhouse gas removal technologies. “Interest in removing carbon dioxide has exploded.”
Although these technologies provide promising tools for confronting climate change, many of them are still in the early stages. The coming years are expected to witness a critical test for this emerging industry.
In 2016, in the turquoise waters surrounding Ticharoa Island, Gagnon and Sachs were tasked with studying the impact of rising levels of global-warming pollution on a small patch of coral reef.
Their research mission included developing a more efficient way to extract carbon from deep seawater and pump it into the shallow waters surrounding coral reefs, simulating the rise in ocean acidity.
After a series of experiments, they came up with light-sensitive molecules capable of absorbing carbon, known as “photoacids.”
Research conducted by the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) in 2013 showed the ability of these molecules, which are pigments, to absorb and release carbon dioxide.
About a decade later, Bathtub Carbon obtained an exclusive license to use this technology.
Gagnon's team at the University of Washington devoted three years to developing it, in preparation for its use in extracting carbon from the air on a commercial scale.
The technology is currently undergoing testing at a CSIRO facility south of Perth, Australia.
Its idea is to draw air into a dark unit, where an aqueous solution containing dye molecules absorbs carbon dioxide, before exposing it to sunlight to release the gas, which can be stored or used industrially.
One of the most prominent advantages of the technology is its low energy consumption, as it relies on sunlight and air without the need for huge power plants.
Although the pilot only captures one ton of carbon per year, the goal is to demonstrate the technology's ability to capture and store carbon on a large scale.
“This represents a big step forward towards turning the technology into a commercial product,” Gagnon said.
Baño Carbon aims to develop facilities capable of capturing 500,000 tons of carbon annually, at a cost of $200 per ton, by the early 2030s.
Despite the growing interest in the decarbonization sector and high expectations about its future, its path is not without challenges.
In 2023, McKinsey predicted that the value of this sector would reach $1.2 billion by 2050, if the right conditions were in place.
But recent developments do not inspire optimism. Last year, ClimeWorks, which specializes in removing carbon dioxide directly from the air, announced the layoff of about 20% of its employees, due to economic challenges and changing climate policy priorities.
During this year, Microsoft, one of the most prominent supporters of the decarbonization market, has significantly reduced its investments in this sector, according to an analysis published by Bloomberg.
Although the company confirmed that this step does not reflect a decline in its ambitions, it has raised questions about the future of the sector, which is still in its early stages.
Carbon projects currently remove about 2.2 billion tons annually, 99.9% of which comes from traditional methods, such as tree planting. As for modern technologies, despite their rapid growth, they only remove about two million tons annually.
Financing is one of the biggest challenges facing the decarbonization sector, according to Mark Patel, a senior partner at McKinsey who specializes in climate technology.
He said: "Lenders and investors need clear indicators proving the existence of a market value for these products, which is still unresolved for many of the solutions proposed."
Patel also pointed to other challenges, most notably the lack of reliable data to prove the effectiveness of technologies, and the difficulty of implementing projects and meeting their schedules.
Gianna Amador, Executive Director of the Decarbonization Alliance, explained that electric vehicle and renewable energy technologies are tapping into existing markets, while the decarbonization sector still needs to create a market from scratch.
She added that companies can release their carbon emissions into the atmosphere for free, which reduces their incentive to pay money to remove them.
However, Amador remains optimistic.
She pointed out that the sector has grown from a few companies, about a decade ago, to hundreds of companies today, which are working on developing various technologies.
So far, Baño Carbon has raised $8.5 million from investors, and has concluded a pre-purchase contract worth $500,000 with H&M and Shopify.
For his part, Gagnon said: “The best way to remove carbon, whether in terms of cost, energy consumption or environmental preservation, is to not release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in the first place.”
As the world continues to burn fossil fuels, with temperatures rising to dangerous levels, Gagnon believes that confronting the carbon crisis requires more than just studying the effects of emissions; It requires working to develop solutions that limit them as well.
He stressed: “We must also work on finding solutions, otherwise the matter will become exhausting to the point that it will be difficult to bear.”
