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21 min ago 2 min read
US clean energy infrastructure company Avnos has commissioned a direct air capture (DAC) plant with capacity to capture 450 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year while producing around 475,000 gallons of clean water.
Co-located with its technology development centre in Bridgewater, New Jersey, the demonstration plant will test Avnos’ hybrid DAC platform and generate operational data to support future commercial deployments.
Known as Project Brighton, it will also support Avnos’ work to demonstrate DAC-sourced CO2 for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production.
The project is backed by the US Office of Naval Research (ONR), under a contract awarded to Avnos’ wholly owned subsidiary IWVC.
Using low-grade waste heat, Avnos’ hybrid DAC technology produces clean water and captures CO2 in a single process. It also claims the platform can be integrated with data centres, carbon storage hubs, and next-generation fuel production to address energy, water, and carbon challenges.
With Project Brighton operational, Avnos will continue to develop its commercial-scale facility Project Cedar, targeting the start of operations for early 2027.
Project Cedar will deploy four hybrid DAC modules to capture 3,000 tonnes of CO2 and produce over 6,000 tonnes of clean water each year, representing a significant increase in carbon capture capacity.
It is backed by a phased project financing agreement worth $17m with energy firms Shell US and Mitsubishi Americas.
Demand for CO2 is expected to . By 2050, global industries could require up to six gigatonnes of CO2 annually as a feedstock for fuels, chemicals and materials.
Amid the global AI scale-up, data centres are also requiring increasing amounts of water. According to a new study from United Nations University (UNU), AI-related water consumption could equal the basic annual domestic needs of 1.3 billion people by 2030.
