ExxonMobil Corp. (Irving, Tex.) and Global Thermostat have expanded their joint development agreement following 12 months of technical evaluation to determine the feasibility and potential scalability of Global Thermostat’s technology that captures carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the air.
“ExxonMobil’s scientists continue to research technology options aimed at reducing emissions at scale, which are key to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement,” said Vijay Swarup, vice president of research and development for ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company. “Our work with Global Thermostat has shown promising signs in the development of direct air capture technologies that could be brought to scale. We look forward to seeing how new materials might accelerate this potential, while also continuing our research that captures CO2 from power generation facilities.”
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has said that CO2 capture, use and storage “is a key technology for the decarbonization of the energy sector in the long term.” In addition, the International Energy Agency recognizes that CO2 removal is expected to play a “key role” in the energy transition. ExxonMobil is also working closely with researchers from University of California, Berkeley (www.berkeley.edu), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL; www.lbl.gov) on new metal-organic-framework technologies for carbon capture.
Global Thermostat’s CO2 capture uses proprietary amine-based adsorbents to remove CO2 from the air. These compounds act together like a filter to efficiently capture CO2, which can then be stored safely underground, used to make chemicals, consumer products or construction materials.
“Global Thermostat is dedicated to addressing the risks of climate change and doing so in a way that creates global prosperity by working with others who have technology to transform the CO2 into fuels, chemicals and materials,” said Peter Eisenberger, chief science officer of Global Thermostat. “We look for companies that want to help us in our mission. After a year of working with ExxonMobil, we recognize our shared objective and they certainly have the capabilities we do not have. We are excited about continuing our work together to scale our technology and welcome others to join us.”
ExxonMobil has a strong network of research partnerships across universities and national labs. As a part of the joint development agreement with Global Thermostat, ExxonMobil will leverage this network and engage the expertise of university partners that have strong expertise in material science and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Labs that offer expertise in CO2 capture and utilization. Global Thermostat will also engage its network of universities and industrial partners to help scale its technology.
The original agreement with Global Thermostat was signed in 2019.