Wärtsilä’s STH auditorium features innovative CO2 capture technology, by Finnish startup Soletair Power, in the pursuit of carbon neutrality.
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A taste of a carbon-neutral energy future
Wärtsilä Energy and innovative Finnish start-ups Soletair Power and Q Power demonstrate carbon-neutral fuel production through CO2 capture at Expo 2020 Dubai.
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Changing the world for the better – together
Matti Rautkivi, Wärtsilä Energy and Kimmo Rauma, charing Soletair Power discuss how large companies can benefit from collaborating with innovative start-ups.
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The Partner Campus: a unique cocreation gateway for Wärtsilä innovation
Wärtsilä has launched the cutting-edge Sustainable Technology Hub in Vaasa, Finland, strengthening innovation for the company and its partners.
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Why Buildings?
HVAC+DAC = Cost savings, Lower emissions, Clean air
Buildings, responsible for about 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions, can be turned into carbon capture machines by making them capture CO2 from air.
Optimized for buildings, Soletair Power‘s patented technology integrates CO2 capture directly into existing air handling units (HVAC). This requires no extreme temperatures, high water usage, or specific geographical conditions. The system benefits from buildings’ internal climatic conditions and HVAC airflow delivering a geographically independent, weatherproof, and economically viable solution for year-round CO2 capture.
For a standard ventilation unit handling 3.3 m3/s, each of our Building-HVAC-Integrated CO2 Capture Units can capture ~47 kilograms of carbon dioxide per 8-hour day or 20 tonnes per year. On average, there are about 20 modules per building. So, each commercial building equipped with Soletair Power‘s technology can capture about 400 tonnes carbon dioxide (about the same emissions as 87 cars) per year from the ambient air.
Now imagine that for hundreds of buildings!
The building can directly save on costs by saving energy occurring from running the HVAC system with a continuous high airflow. Captured CO2 when mineralized into concrete, creates negative emissions and reduces the net emissions of the buildings.
Direct air capture (DAC) is a technology that uses chemical materials to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. When air is moved over these materials, they selectively capture the CO2, allowing the other components of air to pass through.
According to IPCC, limiting global warming to 1.5°C by 2100 will require technologies for large-scale deployment of carbon dioxide removal measures. DAC is needed alongside nature-based CO2 capture, enabling renewable energy, and transitioning away from fossil fuels. DAC has a limited land and water footprint and can be installed in urban environments and places close to CO2 storage.
High concentration of CO2 in the air indoors has a direct influence on how people think (Ref: Harvard University). The standard indoor CO2 level is expected to stay between 450 and 600 ppm, which is slightly above the normal levels in outdoor air (414 ppm). From 1,000 ppm, room occupiers start to feel dissatisfied and with every 400-ppm increase in CO2 concentration, our cognitive function score drops by 20%. CO2 undercuts our ability to perform in thought works at full potential.
Soletair Power’s technology is the first in the world to integrate atmospheric carbon removal in buildings. Soletair Power‘s modules produce no additional noise and can capture CO2 even at a low airflow rate, with low water and energy footprint, making it ideal for installation in buildings. In addition to offsetting a building’s CO2 emissions, HVAC-DAC integration can reduce HVAC’s energy costs, and supply better air indoors.
For a standard ventilation unit handling 3.3 m3/s, each of our Building-HVAC-Integrated CO2 Capture Units can capture ~47 kilograms of carbon dioxide per 8-hour day or 20 tonnes per year. On average, there are about 20 modules per building. So, each commercial building equipped with Soletair Power‘s technology can capture about 400 tonnes carbon dioxide (about the same emissions as 87 cars) per year from the ambient air.
