Plans were unveiled today to build a new type of onshore direct air capture and storage (DACS) system near Paris. According to joint developers RepAir Carbon US and C-Questra, this is the first project of its kind in the EU.
Dutch carbon storage specialist C-Questra announced today that it has applied for a permit to build an onshore CO2 storage facility in Grandpuits, southeast of the French capital. The project will initially store around 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year from the atmosphere. Capacity is to be expanded to millions of tonnes of CO2 by 2035, it said.
The project will utilize RepAir Carbon US’s on-site CO2 removal technology, which the company describes as “heat-free” and runs entirely on electricity. The technology requires 70 percent less energy than most other direct air capture (DAC) methods, consuming just 600 kWh per ton of CO2 removed, the company said.
It is widely accepted that the capacity for nature-based and technological methods of CO2 removal will need to be significantly expanded in the coming decades to have a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C by the end of the century. However, many DAC technologies are currently very expensive and require significant amounts of energy to operate.
However, RepAir Carbon US claims that its solution has the potential to significantly reduce development costs and energy requirements, while co-locating capture and storage facilities also reduces the need for more expensive midstream and offshore infrastructure.
“This sets a new standard for efficient, scalable carbon removal in Europe,” said Jean-Philippe Hiegel, Head of Strategy and Growth at RepAir Carbon.
“The combination of our technology, which consumes just 0.6 MWh per tonne of CO2 captured – compared to 2.5 MWh for most competitors – and C-Questra’s unique expertise in carbon storage overcomes a key barrier to widespread adoption of DACS. Given global decarbonisation needs, this is incredibly exciting.”
The project is in line with France’s recently published CCS strategy, which sets targets for the amount of CO2 to be captured and stored in France by 2030.
The two companies plan to explore local manufacturing opportunities in the Île-de-France region to support the project, which they say will create new green jobs. They also hope to develop similar DACS projects in other EU member states.
“Our partnership with RepAir allows us to demonstrate Europe’s ability to further develop onshore direct air capture and storage projects,” said Walid Sinno, founder and CEO of C-Questra.
“This is important to counteract the dynamics of the US Inflation Act and to re-establish Europe as a leader in carbon dioxide removal.”
Earlier this year, RepAir signed an agreement to use its carbon capture and storage technology in the Prinos aquifer in Kavala, Greece. The project is being carried out jointly with EnEarth, a subsidiary of Mediterranean natural gas exploration and production company Energean.
The Prinos project is scheduled to come online in early 2026 and be fully developed by 2028. It will reportedly have the capacity to store up to three million tonnes of CO2 per year.
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