Icelandic Basalt Mineralization Facility Captures and Permanently Turns CO2 Into Stone
Aerial perspective of coastal green mangrove forest surrounded by crystal ocean
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 de...