GE to test 3D-printing for direct air capture

General Electric said August 24 it was partnering with university researchers to use 3D-printing technology in the pursuit of direct air capture (DAC) of CO₂.

GE said it would work with chemists and engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of South Alabama on a $2mn project backed by funding from the Department of Energy.

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“GE Research, with its university project partners, are developing a unique approach that involves pairing 3D-printed heat exchanger technology with innovative sorbent materials to create a system that effectively extracts carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide, from the air,” the company explained.

The US Department of Energy said August 17 it was backing research into DAC with $24mn in total funding. The department awarded GE and its partners with $1.5mn, with the rest to be covered by the company and universities.

“Through this project, we’re aiming to demonstrate the feasibility of a system that could become a future large-scale, economical solution for widespread decarbonisation of the energy sector,” David Moore, the principal investigator for physics and chemistry at GE’s research arm, said.

As with other green projects, DAC technology requires significant investment to scale up to become economically viable. But in announcing the funding, US energy secretary Jennifer Granholm said DAC was an “absolute necessity” to alleviate the worst impacts of global climate change.