OSLO — REYKJAVIK — Amid the volcanic steam plumes of the southwestern Icelandic highlands, climate scientists and environmental engineers announced that the world’s largest direct air capture and mineralization facility has permanently sequestered over 100,000 metric tonnes of atmospheric carbon dioxide. By reacting carbonated water with reactive subterranean basalt, the carbon becomes solid carbonate stone that can never leak.
The Chemistry of Permanent Rock Formation
Unlike traditional carbon capture projects that store pressurized gaseous CO2 in depleted oil wells where monitoring is required for centuries, the mineralization process mimics natural weathering. Within two years of injection at depths of 1,200 meters, 95% of the carbon chemically bonds with calcium, magnesium, and iron to form white calcite veins.
“We are turning carbon back into stone where it originated. Once it is rock, it is permanent. It cannot leak, it cannot burn, and it poses zero danger to future generations.”
— Edda Sif Aradóttir, Managing Director, Carbfix Systems
Harnessing Abundant Geothermal Energy
The entire industrial operation runs exclusively on zero-carbon geothermal steam and electricity from the adjacent Hellisheidi power station, ensuring an ultra-high net carbon efficiency of 91%.
“This is the benchmark for durable atmospheric removal: verified, measurable, and geologically permanent.”— Dr. Klaus Lackner, Director, Center for Negative Carbon Emissions
Replicating the Model Along Global Volcanic Belts
International consortiums have commenced exploratory drilling to replicate the technology in volcanic basalt formations in Kenya, the Pacific Northwest of the United States, and New Zealand.