Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A Report on Direct Air Carbon Capture Technology
Introduction
In March 2023, UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized the urgent need for action on climate change, stating that “Humanity is on thin ice” and “that ice is melting fast.” This statement was in response to the AR6 Synthesis Report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which highlighted the closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all. To prevent catastrophic consequences such as floods, droughts, famines, diseases, and species extinction, the world must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.
One potential solution that has gained attention from policymakers is direct air carbon capture technology, which removes carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. Engineer and entrepreneur Aaron Sabin, a student in the MS/MBA program of the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, is working on developing cost-effective and scalable direct air capture technology. His goal is to remove billions of tons of carbon from the atmosphere to mitigate global warming.
Effective but not Efficient
The IPCC report highlighted that climate change is already underway, with global temperatures rising more than 1°C above pre-industrial levels. CO2 levels in the atmosphere are at their highest in the past 800,000 years, leading to increased sea levels, heatwaves, storms, and droughts. Sabin acknowledges that even if CO2 emissions were to stop today, it would take generations for the excess CO2 in the air to be absorbed by the oceans and biosphere. Therefore, there is a need to accelerate the removal of carbon dioxide.
Carbon capture technologies aim to directly extract carbon from the atmosphere and either utilize it for useful purposes or store it underground. However, the challenge lies in the fact that CO2 constitutes only 0.04% of the Earth’s air and is mixed with other gases like nitrogen, oxygen, and argon. While effective direct air capture methods exist, they are often powered by inefficient energy sources, making them expensive. Sabin believes that more efficient methods, currently in development, can be scaled up to address climate change effectively. The IPCC estimates that to avoid critical levels of global warming by 2050, 10 billion tons of CO2 need to be removed from the atmosphere annually, whereas the current capture rate is only 10,000 tons per year.
The Science of Flow
Sabin’s research focuses on making carbon capture more energy efficient. His model involves flowing a liquid solution into an electrochemical cell, where electricity activates it. The solution is then exposed to the air, allowing CO2 to bind with it. The liquid then passes through a second cell, where the CO2 is separated and released as pure gas for underground sequestration. This process can be repeated continuously.
Sabin’s system is significantly more efficient than current methods of carbon capture as it primarily uses energy for running current through the cells and exposing the solution to air. Additionally, it can be scaled up by constructing large plants with multiple units concentrated in areas with low population density.
However, there are challenges to overcome. The current solution is sensitive to oxygen and water, which are present in the atmosphere in higher quantities than CO2. Oxygen can steal electrons from the solution, preventing CO2 from binding with the molecules. Water can also decompose some of the solution’s molecules. The key is to find a stable carbon capture “recipe” of solvent, sorbent, and electrolytic additives that can withstand exposure to the atmosphere.
Sabin expects to develop a viable carbon capture recipe within two years and plans to create a prototype to demonstrate its effectiveness. His mentor, Michael Aziz, believes that Sabin’s electrochemical approach has a better chance of achieving cost-efficiency in direct air capture compared to other methods.
This student profile was originally published on the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) website.
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
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SDG 13: Climate Action
- Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters
- Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning
- Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning
- Target 13.A: Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible
- Target 13.B: Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing states, including focusing on women, youth, and local and marginalized communities
The issues highlighted in the article are directly connected to SDG 13: Climate Action. The article discusses the urgent need to cut greenhouse gas emissions to avoid catastrophic consequences of climate change. It also mentions the development of direct air carbon capture technology as a potential solution.
The targets under SDG 13 that can be identified based on the article’s content are:
- Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters
- Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning
- Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning
No specific indicators are mentioned or implied in the article to measure progress towards these targets.
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SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
- Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending
- Target 9.A: Facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries through enhanced financial, technological, and technical support to African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing states
- Target 9.B: Support domestic technology development, research, and innovation in developing countries, including by ensuring a conducive policy environment for, inter alia, industrial diversification and value addition to commodities
The article indirectly addresses SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure as it discusses the development of direct air capture technology as an innovative solution to mitigate climate change. The technology being developed by Aaron Sabin aims to be cost-effective and scalable.
The targets under SDG 9 that can be identified based on the article’s content are:
- Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending
- Target 9.A: Facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries through enhanced financial, technological, and technical support to African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing states
- Target 9.B: Support domestic technology development, research, and innovation in developing countries, including by ensuring a conducive policy environment for, inter alia, industrial diversification and value addition to commodities
No specific indicators are mentioned or implied in the article to measure progress towards these targets.
Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
| SDGs | Targets | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| SDG 13: Climate Action |
|
No specific indicators mentioned or implied in the article. |
| SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure |
|
No specific indicators mentioned or implied in the article. |
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Source: hbs.edu
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