Matthew Ao

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In 2019, Stripe had committed to spending $1 million a year to take CO2 out of the air. In the ensuing year, customers were given an option by the online payments platform to five a portion of the money they make from each sale to carbon removal projects. Those contributions will be added to the Frontier project.
Alphabet, Meta, and other Big Tech firms launch a new carbon removal initiative
Frontier will consider factors such as permanence, physical footprint, cost, capacity, and environmental justice to identify the technologies worth the investment
Alphabet, Meta, and other Big Tech firms launch a new carbon removal initiative
Suppliers will be enabled to secure financing to scale their deployments as these agreements agree to purchase future tons of carbon removal if and when they are delivered.
Alphabet, Meta, and other Big Tech firms launch a new carbon removal initiative
Early-stage suppliers piloting new technologies will be provided funds by entering into low-volume pre-purchase agreements, and the company will facilitate advance purchases between individual buyers and suppliers who are ready to scale their technologies.
Alphabet, Meta, and other Big Tech firms launch a new carbon removal initiative
The 450 Wh/kg, 1150 Wh/L lithium-ion battery cells — the first of their kind to be deployed commercially, per Amprius, — were shipped to an industry leader of a new generation of High-Altitude Pseudo Satellites (HAPS)
A new silicon battery design just beat Tesla's energy density
Amprius Technologies is being called the "leading provider of the highest energy density cells available."
A new silicon battery design just beat Tesla's energy density
The proof of concept's current output stands at a relatively small 0.1 nW, though the researchers say their system could be used to address the issue of solar energy being intermittent by storing energy for months on end and deploying it just when it's needed.
A new energy storage system can store solar power for nearly two decades
the MOST system "means that we can use solar energy to produce electricity regardless of weather, time of day, season, or geographical location. It is a closed system that can operate without causing carbon dioxide emissions."
A new energy storage system can store solar power for nearly two decades
So far, we have only generated small amounts of electricity, but the new results show that the concept really works. It looks very promising
A new energy storage system can store solar power for nearly two decades
The generator is an ultra-thin chip that could be integrated into electronics such as headphones, smart watches, and telephones
A new energy storage system can store solar power for nearly two decades
designed using specially-developed molecules of carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen. When these are hit by sunlight, the atoms within the molecules are rearranged, turning them into an energy-rich isomer that's stored in liquid form. Impressively, the researchers say their system stores energy in this liquid form for up to 18 years. It is then released using a special catalyst that returns the molecules to their original shape, releasing the stored energy as heat.
A new energy storage system can store solar power for nearly two decades
tested its device, called the Molecular Solar Thermal system (MOST), by connecting it to a thermoelectric generator, proving that it can produce electricity on-demand.
A new energy storage system can store solar power for nearly two decades
Researchers from Sweden's Chalmers University of Technology designed an energy system that stores solar energy in liquid form for up to 18 years, a press statement reveals.
A new energy storage system can store solar power for nearly two decades
CarbonPlan’s researchers also noticed that conservation organizations like Mass Audubon were regularly participating in the program. They identified at least a dozen projects involving forests that wouldn’t seem to be at risk of aggressive logging.
A nonprofit promised to preserve wildlife. Then it made millions claiming it could cut down trees | MIT Technology Review
The latest IPCC report suggests that, alongside efforts to reduce emissions, the world will have to remove roughly six billion tons of CO2 per year by 2050 to avoid the worst effects of climate change.
A Hawaii-based startup launched the world's first ocean carbon removal pilot plant
The company says its technology can currently capture CO2 at a cost of $475 per ton and the pilot plant can capture 36 tons of CO2 a year. Its next plant will be designed to capture 5,000 tons of CO2 per year and it will operate at a lower cost of $200 per ton.
A Hawaii-based startup launched the world's first ocean carbon removal pilot plant
Internet infrastructure firm Stripe has already announced in May that it was purchasing sCS2 services via the researchers' newly-founded startup Seachange.
Carbon-Capture Tech Mimics The Seashell Forming Process | IE
However, the team does caution that removing CO2 from the atmosphere is "first and foremost" an economic challenge, given the scale of the task. They say it would take approximately 1,800 of their sCS2 plants to remove 10 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, costing trillions of dollars.
Carbon-Capture Tech Mimics The Seashell Forming Process | IE
"Durable, safe, and permanent storage is the premise of our solution," said first author Erika Callagon La Plante, a former UCLA assistant project scientist
Carbon-Capture Tech Mimics The Seashell Forming Process | IE
The sCS2 method also develops hydrogen as a byproduct, which could be used to help power the machine or sold as fuel for hydrogen-powered vehicles.
Carbon-Capture Tech Mimics The Seashell Forming Process | IE
One of the great benefits of this method is that CO2 levels are 150 times more concentrated in seawater than they are in the air, meaning any method extracting CO2 from the ocean is more efficient.
Carbon-Capture Tech Mimics The Seashell Forming Process | IE
The seawater used in the machine flows back out to the ocean, where it will then absorb more carbon dioxide.
Carbon-Capture Tech Mimics The Seashell Forming Process | IE
This is the main idea behind the UCLA scientists' new technology, which is aimed at speeding up the process of turning carbon dioxide into minerals in ocean water. In lab experiments, the team tested a prototype that pulls in seawater and creates limestone and magnesite, the same materials created by mollusks to form seashells.
Carbon-Capture Tech Mimics The Seashell Forming Process | IE
Due to the fact that the ocean and atmosphere are in a state of equilibrium, the ocean essentially acts as a sponge for the atmosphere's CO2. However, as it is already saturated it can't take any more. If CO2 is removed in large amounts from the ocean though, it will then suck more out of the atmosphere.
Carbon-Capture Tech Mimics The Seashell Forming Process | IE
"To mitigate climate change, we need to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at a level between 10 billion and 20 billion metric tons per year," senior author Gaurav Sant explained in a press release. "To fulfill a solution at that scale, we’ve got to draw inspiration from nature."
Carbon-Capture Tech Mimics The Seashell Forming Process | IE
Their concept, outlined in a paper published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, is called single-step carbon sequestration and storage, or sCS2 for short
Carbon-Capture Tech Mimics The Seashell Forming Process | IE
human activity releases an estimated 37 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually
Carbon-Capture Tech Mimics The Seashell Forming Process | IE
Carbfix is working with researchers to make the technology work on other types of rocks and aims to permanently store 1 billion metric tons of CO₂ in 2030.
Startup Sucks Carbon From the Air, Turns It Into Rock | IE
Carbfix's website states that the process costs about $25 a tonne which is far less than the current price of about 40 euros ($48) a tonne on the EU’s Emissions Trading System
Startup Sucks Carbon From the Air, Turns It Into Rock | IE
Aradottir has stated that the Hellisheidi plant can capture carbon at a cheaper cost than buying carbon credits, which are created when a project verifies they have reduced, avoided, or destroyed one metric tonne of greenhouse gasses.
Startup Sucks Carbon From the Air, Turns It Into Rock | IE
After the air is sucked in through fans and the carbon dioxide is extracted with filters, the startup then combines the carbon with water. This enables them to achieve a mild acid that they pump below ground, into basaltic rock. Aradóttir told Reuters that 95 percent of what was carbon dioxide was turned to rock within 2 years.
Startup Sucks Carbon From the Air, Turns It Into Rock | IE
Each roughly the size of a shipping container, eight carbon collectors are being installed in Iceland to expand the plant. It's already capturing and storing 50 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, but this move will raise its capacity to 4,000 tonnes annually, Reuters reports.
Startup Sucks Carbon From the Air, Turns It Into Rock | IE
A startup in Iceland, Carbfix, is not only capturing the carbon from the air but also injecting it into the ground where it turns into stone. This allows the greenhouse gas to be contained safely rather than escape into the atmosphere and trap heat.
Startup Sucks Carbon From the Air, Turns It Into Rock | IE
Elon Musk has most recently announced a $100 million prize for the best carbon capture technology, and such highly engineered solutions might help humanity to reverse some of the effects of climate change.
Startup Sucks Carbon From the Air, Turns It Into Rock | IE
The ocean absorbs a huge amount of CO2, though the more CO2 it contains, the slower that process becomes as the world's oceans become saturated — the ocean has absorbed a third of the excess CO2 humans have released into the atmosphere
A Hawaii-based startup launched the world's first ocean carbon removal pilot plant
"When the excess acidity is removed from the ocean, it shifts how CO2 exists back to how it was pre-Industrial Revolution," Erik Millar, co-CEO of Heimdal, explained to FastCompany in an interview. "This moves it away from being carbonic acid, which causes ocean acidification, and toward bicarbonate and carbonate. These are stable forms of mineralized carbon dioxide that make their way down to the ocean floor, where they are stored for more than 100,000 years."
A Hawaii-based startup launched the world's first ocean carbon removal pilot plant
The process also produces hydrogen and oxygen as byproducts, which can also be stored. The water, meanwhile, is returned to the ocean, where it will help to capture CO2.
A Hawaii-based startup launched the world's first ocean carbon removal pilot plant
The company pumps saltwater into a machine that applies electricity to rearrange the molecules in the water and reduce the acidity.
A Hawaii-based startup launched the world's first ocean carbon removal pilot plant
"ocean-assisted" carbon removal method that can permanently store CO2 at the same time as reducing ocean acidification
A Hawaii-based startup launched the world's first ocean carbon removal pilot plant
The music fell under five main style categories. "Mellow" is associated with soft rock, R&B and adult contemporary music, including romantic lyrics and slow beats, while "intense" is louder, more aggressive music like punk, classic rock, heavy metal and power pop. The other categories included "contemporary" (upbeat electronica, rap, Latin and Euro-pop), "sophisticated" (classical, opera, jazz) and "unpretentious" (relaxing or country music genres).
What music reveals about our minds - CNN
By their nature, forest offset systems create incentives for landowners to exaggerate the amount of logging possible on their property. Landowners who assert they would have cut down all their trees can earn more credits and make more money than landowners who propose to cut down less of their forest.
A nonprofit promised to preserve wildlife. Then it made millions claiming it could cut down trees | MIT Technology Review
“The nearly universal pattern we see in the data,” said Danny Cullenward, policy director at CarbonPlan and a coauthor of the study, corroborates concerns that “those projects are not delivering real climate benefits.”
A nonprofit promised to preserve wildlife. Then it made millions claiming it could cut down trees | MIT Technology Review
That finding was one piece of a larger study that concluded the program issued tens of millions of carbon credits that don’t achieve real climate benefits. As ProPublica and MIT Technology Review reported recently, those ghost credits were the result of oversimplified calculations of average carbon levels in forests.
A nonprofit promised to preserve wildlife. Then it made millions claiming it could cut down trees | MIT Technology Review
The research suggests the program could be significantly exaggerating the amount of carbon savings achieved.
A nonprofit promised to preserve wildlife. Then it made millions claiming it could cut down trees | MIT Technology Review
Some offset researchers argue that the state’s approach allows landowners to claim credits for trees that were never in danger. New research by the San Francisco nonprofit CarbonPlan provides evidence that this is occurring: It shows that landowners in the program routinely maximize the number of trees they assert they could chop down if they weren’t given carbon credits, even if they have little history of logging or have mission statements in sharp opposition to such practices
A nonprofit promised to preserve wildlife. Then it made millions claiming it could cut down trees | MIT Technology Review
In order for California’s system to work, carbon market experts say, the program must cause carbon savings that wouldn’t have happened in the absence of the program. If Mass Audubon had already planned to preserve the forest, then the carbon credits program is paying to save trees that were never at risk.
A nonprofit promised to preserve wildlife. Then it made millions claiming it could cut down trees | MIT Technology Review
But it didn’t work out as well for the climate, unless Mass Audubon actually intended to start acting more like a timber company. The project wouldn’t achieve anywhere near the claimed levels of reduced carbon emissions if the nonprofit was getting credits for forests that were never in danger of aggressive logging. And every time a polluter uses a credit that didn’t actually save a ton of carbon, net emissions go up, undermining the point of the program.
A nonprofit promised to preserve wildlife. Then it made millions claiming it could cut down trees | MIT Technology Review
On paper, the deal was a success. The fossil fuel companies were able to emit more CO2 while abiding by California’s climate laws. Mass Audubon earned enough money to acquire additional land for preservation, and to hire new staff working on climate change.
A nonprofit promised to preserve wildlife. Then it made millions claiming it could cut down trees | MIT Technology Review
The Air Resources Board accepted Mass Audubon’s project into its program, requiring the nonprofit to preserve its forests over the next century instead of heavily logging them. The nonprofit received more than 600,000 credits in exchange for its promise. The vast majority were sold through intermediaries to oil and gas companies, records show. The group earned about $6 million from the sales
A nonprofit promised to preserve wildlife. Then it made millions claiming it could cut down trees | MIT Technology Review
The program allows forest owners like Mass Audubon to earn so-called carbon credits for preserving trees. Each credit represents a ton of CO2. California polluters, such as oil companies, buy these credits so that they can emit more CO2 than they’d otherwise be allowed to under state law. Theoretically, the exchange should balance out emissions to prevent an overall increase in CO2 in the atmosphere.
A nonprofit promised to preserve wildlife. Then it made millions claiming it could cut down trees | MIT Technology Review