The philanthropic research foundation of tech billionaire Elon Musk has awarded USD$250,000 (AUD$338,000) to a University of Sydney team developing technology to permanently remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The funding was announced at the Sustainable Innovation Forum at COP26 in Glasgow.

Their project, Sydney Sustainable Carbon uses renewable solar power and has no association with carbon capture and storage or fossil fuel companies.

The team of students and their academic supervisor is collaborating with Australian renewables start-up Southern Green Gas along with Corporate Carbon and Swiss Re.

If successful, the project could ultimately attract a $50 million grant from the Musk Foundation, aimed at creating a new manufacturing sector and jobs for Australia.   

This funding could help develop a novel Australian approach in environmental technology known as Negative Emissions Technology.

This involves the removal and permanent storage of carbon dioxide from the air, with no association to any fossil fuel source or company.

Once removed from the atmosphere the CO2 could also be used to support sustainable agriculture and horticulture.

For example, algae –a valuable source of high protein food and omega 3 food supplements – could be grown more effectively and sustainably using CO2. Australia’s organic fruits, vegetables, and flowers, typically grown in greenhouses, could also be grown more sustainably using this CO2.

The University team, overseen by Professor Deanna D’Alessandro from the University of Sydney Nano Institute and the School of Chemistry, is led by PhD student Eleanor Kearns.

It is one of 23 student teams awarded a prize out of 195 applicants worldwide.

“Removing CO2 from the atmosphere is one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time, and Australia is uniquely positioned to deliver the solution," Professor D’Alessandro said

"It has around 300 million hectares of non-arable land with high solar intensity.

“We hope the recognition brought about by this award will encourage the Australian Government to support Negative Emissions Technology in the near future.”

The project provides a new, massively scalable method for removing CO2 from the atmosphere, using a solar-powered process called Direct Air Capture (DAC).

Carbon dioxide is captured using metal-organic framework (MOF) materials. One teaspoon of the material, available to capture CO2, is equivalent to the surface area of a football field.

Each DAC unit will capture two tonnes of CO2 per year and can be deployed in their millions.

The University of Sydney team is developing and synthesising the MOF materials, along with the 3D printing protocols for the materials in the second-generation DAC units.

Southern Green Gas’s role was to design the units to be powered solely by renewable energy (solar PV panels), recyclable, and for low-cost mass manufacture.

Project partners Southern Green Gas, Corporate Carbon and Swiss Re are currently developing a demonstration project.

The team will use the award funds to enhance their prototype unit.

The University of Sydney regularly ranks in the world’s top 50 universities. In the 2022 QS World Rankings the University ranked No. 3 in Australia and 38th in the world.

The University’s excellence in research and teaching makes the University of Sydney one of the top universities in Australia and highly ranked among the best universities in the world.

Read more about the University of Sydney profile.

Excerpt from The University of Sydney News dated 10 November 2021

Image: Student Sam Wenger at work. Photo: Louise Cooper/USYD.