Checking Out a Prototype CO2 Capture Facility in Switzerland

On a research trip to Switzerland in 2023, I thought I’d try my hand at vlogging. The topic? A prototype carbon capture facility in the town of Hinwil.

The facility, operated by Climeworks, was a proof-of-concept project that went into operation in 2017. Dubbed the ‘Capricorn’ project by Climeworks, it could capture 900 tons of CO2 directly from the atmosphere each year. The captured CO2 was piped to a nearby greenhouse for growing vegetables, as well as stored in tanks for later use by the beverage industry to make fizzy drinks. Commercial operations at Capricorn came to an end in October 2022 as Climeworks turned its attention to the construction and operation of much larger facilities in Iceland and the United States. The hallmark of these new facilities is the capture and permanent storage of legacy CO2 emissions from the Earth’s atmosphere.

Check out the vlog: