Switzerland inaugurates first factory capable of transforming CO2

A Swiss company has developed an astonishing fan to capture and process carbon dioxide. After treatment, the CO2 thus recovered is used as fertilizer in the neighboring fields.
In the absence of finding the solution against global warming, Switzerland now has a unique technology to fight against this phenomenon. Developed by Climeworks, the world's first carbon dioxide (CO2) plant has just been set up in the city of Hinwill.
Located on the roof of the incinerator of this village, the installation, measuring 12 meters in height, consists of a stack of 18 large fans. Operating according to the so-called "direct air capture" technique, the unit sucks the ambient air. By passing through the turbines, the carbon dioxide contained in the atmosphere is trapped in filters, acting like sponges, which line each unit.
The CO 2 particles thus recovered are then heated to a temperature of 100 ° C. in order to make the carbon dioxide solid, thus allowing its use. Some of the recovered CO2 is then stored underground, the rest is sold to industrialists and neighboring farms who can use it as fertilizer. According to a company press release, carbon dioxide used as a " Fertilizer "increases the growth of lettuce and other vegetables by 20%".

The plant in Hinwill is expected to capture 900 tonnes of CO2 per year, according to its designers, equivalent to the emissions of 200 cars. By 2025, they want to capture 1% of the carbon dioxide emitted on the planet. To achieve this, nearly 750,000 CO2 capture plants should be installed in the world. This represents a particularly significant investment: each facility currently costing nearly 2 million euros.
"If we want to comply with the Paris Climate Accord, we need to start developing these technologies, but also to improve them and implement them on a larger scale." To achieve this, we need to reduce our research costs And have a broader customer base, "says Vice News, Jan Wurzbacher, the founder of Climeworks.