What we do

We develop and deploy direct air capture machines that remove CO2 from the atmosphere.​

DAC: the basic concept

Our direct air capture machines use solid sorbents that soak up atmospheric CO2 when cooled and release concentrated CO2 when heated. The captured CO2 can then be permanently stored underground or used to make synthetic fuels, low-carbon concrete, carbon black, or other industrial products that require clean CO2.

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A modular open systems architecture

 

By integrating a modular technical design with open business practices, we're creating a generalized DAC platform for solid sorbents that allows for incremental upgrades, minimizes obsolescence, and speeds up development cycles.

Our platform is deeply modular, consisting of components designed for high volume manufacturing that 'stack' in nested tiers so that innovation can occur within a level without requiring changes in higher or lower levels.

Advanced sorbents 
A font of fundamental innovation
 
To leverage the inventive capacity of the international sorbent development community, we've designed our systems to accept a wide variety of amines, MOFs, hybrid solutions, and other novel materials.
Standardized cartridges
Snap-in upgrades
 
Our standardized plug & play sorbent cartridges make upgrades fast and easy. It also lets us swap in different sorbents to fit the needs of specific sites, climates, and even seasons. 
Programmable reactors
Our core processing unit
 
Our reactors are designed to be programmable to the optimal operating processes of the specific sorbent cartridges in use as well as for varying seasonal weather conditions.
Container-sized modules
Our core shipping unit
 
Multiple reactors fill our our modules. Matching standard container sizes makes shipping, installation, and hardware upgrades cheaper and easier to manage at scale.
Functional clusters
Our core field unit
 
Multiple modules are grouped and connected in clusters in order to gain efficiencies from sharing common services like electric power, heat, and CO2 transport.
Large arrays
Massively scaleable 
 
A virtually unlimited number of functional clusters can be assembled in the field. Megatons of CO2 capture capacity can be grown in step with demand in one or more distributed sites.
What makes us different?

We’re going big
by going small

ILL deply
It may seem counter-intuitive, but we think the best way to get big is by fitting our DAC systems into small container-sized modules. That way we can mass produce them in controlled factory environments and assemble them on site in arrays that may start small, but can grow to megatons and beyond. Also, small-scale modularity brings down costs by enabling rapid deployment, fast project de-risking, and high-velocity design iteration.

We develop
and deploy

ILL going small
We develop and manufacture our own proprietary DAC systems as well as deploy and operate these systems in the field. This allows us to provide our clients with the end product they seek: either DAC carbon removal credits or clean CO2 for use as a feedstock in industrial products like synthetic fuels. It also allows us to rapidly translate any learnings we gain from operating our DAC systems in real-world field conditions into improvements in our systems.

An open
architecture​

ILL sieves
We're creating a generalized hardware platform capable of accommodating a wide range of solid sorbents, including amines, MOFs, hybrid solutions, and other novel materials. By making the platform's operating processes programmable and providing a set of open standards, we're enabling the use of plug & play sorbent cartridges that in turn allow for the rapid adoption of emerging sorbent innovations.

Carbon removal credits


Interested in purchasing high-quality carbon removal credits produced by direct air capture systems? 

Partnerships


Let’s face civilization’s greatest challenge together.


Roughly 100 billion tons of CO2 need to be removed from the atmosphere by 2100. To reach that goal, it's going to require a massive effort by the global community. Below are the areas in which we're actively seeking partners.

Contact us

Advanced sorbents

sorbents
If you have or are developing a sorbent that's well-suited for DAC, let us know. With an open systems architecture, we may be able to provide a rapid path to evaluation, manufacturing scale-up, and commercial deployment.
 
Note that our DAC hardware platform is designed to accommodate a wide range of solid sorbents, including amines, MOFs, zeolites, and other novel and emerging materials
 

Project deployment

deploy
We're currently seeking partners in the following areas: geological CO2 storage, sustainable synthetic fuels, and low-carbon concrete. 
 
On a limited basis, we're also seeking partners who look to develop private DAC projects and have a use for the CO2 captured--either for storage or as a clean feedstock.

Project financing

finance
Over the next decade, we anticipate requiring a significant amount of capital as we deploy megatons of DAC capacity.
 
We're seeking to develop relationships with forward-thinking, project finance investors that share our mission to decarbonize the atmosphere.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do we need direct air capture technology

transparent iconIn order to achieve climate targets, we need to do everything we can to reduce emissions. Unfortunately, mitigation alone won’t get us to net zero. To keep global warming to under 1.5°C by 2100, studies show that negative emissions technologies like DAC will need to remove in the order of 10-15 gigatons a year by 2050.

What's the summary of your approach to addressing climate change

We develop DAC machines that filter CO2 out of the atmosphere. We also develop large-scale carbon removal projects where we deploy our DAC machines. Our product and technical strategies are based on a deeply modular, open systems architecture. By integrating a modular technical design with open business practices, we’re creating a DAC platform that: 

    • Allows for incremental upgrades, minimizes obsolescence, and speeds up development cycles 

    • Can accommodate a wide range of solid sorbents classes, including amines, MOFs, zeolites, and other novel and emerging materials

    • Uses plug & play sorbent cartridges, enabling site-specific and seasonal optimization as well as accelerated deployments of emerging sorbent innovations

 

What do you mean by "deep modularity"

By "deep modularity," we mean a product strategy whereby we design components that 1) are manufacturable in factories and that 2) “stack” in nested levels of development so that innovation can occur within a level without impacting other levels. As opposed to the construction of large plants, this approach allows: 

    • Mass production and high-velocity design iteration, which leads to faster learning rates and associated cost reductions 

    • Rapid, inexpensive de-risking due to the ability to quickly field small modules that are not a demonstration, but rather the initial phase of a larger deployment

    • Granular capacity expansion that can closely track rapid changes in demand

    • Mixed environments: DAC farms that consist of older and newer models, allowing rapid deployment of innovations without the need to retire existing productive assets

What do you mean by "open architecture systems"

By "open systems architecture," we mean that we’re standardizing and opening our hardware and programming interfaces for third-party sorbent development partners in order to encourage the development of plug & play sorbent cartridges that: 

    • Represent a wide range of solid sorbents classes, including amines, MOFs, hybrid solutions, and other novel and emerging materials 

    • Enable site and seasonal sorbent optimization with easy swaps

    • Accelerate deployments of emerging sorbent innovations with easy upgrades

    • Minimize supply chain risks due to sorbent bottlenecks due to interoperability