Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

December 13, 2023 – American Airlines is making major leaps in the fight against climate change, signing a deal to trap 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) underground.

The deal was inked with the Bill Gates-backed startup called Graphyte, the first major deal for the entity as it develops state-of-the-art technology to take on CO2.

With American Airlines as its first customer, Graphyte gets a chance to prove the effectiveness of its technology against other startups selling similar services. These other startups are developing technologies like graphyte to pull CO2 out of the air or seawater.

According to reports, Graphyte, financially backed by Gates’ climate investment firm, Breakthrough Energy Ventures; says it can cheaply capture carbon for a low price of $100 per ton. In fact, compared to other CO2-removing entities, this is very affordable. For instance, Microsoft, Stripe, and Shopify have their CO2 captured by the largest CO2 removal plant for about $600 per ton.

Graphyte is able to do this by being energy efficient compared to its competitors. Machines that filter CO2 from the air and ocean typically use a lot of electricity which pushes up costs, limiting the level of good that can be done in relation to clean energy sources.

Also, they use a different method called carbon casting, reports say, which is a way to mummify plant matter, stopping the decaying process and locking in the CO2.

In an article, MSN went into a bit of detail about the process Graphyte will take. It says it will start by collecting waste from agriculture and timber production and drying it which prevents decomposition. It is then wrapped in what Graphyte says is “an environmentally-safe impermeable barrier to ensure that decomposition doesn’t restart.” They say they can store the CO2 for a thousand years.

American Airlines will debut with Graphyte at the organisation’s facility in Pine Bluff Arkansas.