Carbon Engineering is a new firm committed to reducing greenhouse gases. These gases primarily include Carbon Dioxide and it is deteriorating the delicate balance of nature. They intend to suck most of it with the help of their industrial plants, but their work is not limited to getting rid of these gases as they also want to convert Carbon Dioxide back into combustible fuel. But can they possibly do that?
Climeworks and Global Thermostat are two more startups working in this field. The envisage a future in which the global warming phenomenon is no more, and the resulting climatic changes can be reversed. Not only that, the low-cost fuel made from Carbon Dioxide will help overcome the energy requirements of masses directly from the atmosphere instead of burning more fossil fuels to disrupt the fragile ecosystem.
Apart form that, CO2 has other uses in the industry too like soda manufacturers who use it in their drinks. But, the main problem associated with the concept is that it would take much investment from all the countries involved and can the trio of startups justify their investment? Also, is the chemical process of converting Co2 back into fuel financially viable or not? These are all valid questions that need to be answered by these startups, and strong figures and return models need to be presented.
But when I think about the concept generally, I come to the conclusion that the global warming will leave us no choice but to pursue this to preserve the planet for future generations. We see the effects of greenhouse gases already. The coral reefs are disintegrating and the marine wildlife has been affected very badly. The global warming, on the other hand, is causing the polar ice caps to melt and change the weather outlook as a whole. The sea levels are rising and droughts, floods and cyclones are becoming devastating. As many people are pointing out that we may not have a choice or an alternative at all. Projects like these must be pursued to their logical conclusion! The world needs to stat operating on zero Carbon emissions as soon as possible.