New Facility Aims to Capture 40 Million Trees' Worth of CO2 Every Year

It locked down initial funding with the help of Bill Gates.

Carbon Capture

A Canadian startup called Carbon Engineering says it's secured the funding to build a futuristic facility that'll suck as much carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere every year as 40 million trees — and its financial backers include Microsoft founder Bill Gates and several major energy companies.

"This financing round — the largest of its kind into a [direct air capture] company — shows the growing recognition of both the benefits and commercial readiness of our DAC technology," said CEO Steve Oldham in a statement. "As the world assesses how to address climate change while keeping economies running with the energy they need, our technology can provide a key part of the solution."

CO2 Crew

Carbon Engineering is vague on the precise technology its 30-acre facility is going to use, but its website promises that it'll be able to store the captured carbon underground or use it to synthesize fuel that could be used to power regular vehicles.

In an interview with the Calgary Herald, Oldham teased the possibility that some investors — which include oil companies Chevron and Occidetntal Petroleum Corp — might be interested in using the technology to offset their own carbon emissions.

"It’s a reasonable deduction for anybody to say those companies that have invested in Carbon Engineering would also be interested in becoming the first customers," he told the newspaper.

READ MORE: Billionaires back Canadian company to build first ‘negative emissions’ plant [National Post]

More on carbon capture: New Carbon Capture System Generates Electricity by Sucking up CO2