**CO2 in the Air Will Be Locked into Concrete**

CO2 from Air to Be Locked in Concrete University of Illinois will lead front-end engineering design work at U.S. Steel's Gary Works facility in Gary, Indiana. The work will focus on developing a direct air capture and utilization system. The study is expected to help develop sustainable approaches toward carbon reduction. The U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE-NETL) has awarded USD 3,459,554 to the Prairie Research Institute (PRI) at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for research and development to support a front-end engineering design (FEED) study on carbon dioxide (CO2) removal technologies. The study will focus on developing a direct air capture and utilization system (DACUS) capable of removing 5,000 metric tons of CO2 per year from ambient air and then permanently mineralizing it in concrete products. If built, the designed system would be larger than any existing direct air capture (DAC) system. Project principal investigator and PRI Illinois Sustainable Technology Center director Dr. Kevin OBrien said, "We are excited to bring together a strong team of academic and industry collaborators to accelerate effective, economic carbon capture and utilization." The work will begin at U.S. Steel's Gary Works facility in Gary, Indiana using a DAC technology developed by CarbonCapture Inc. The technology will utilize the facility's waste heat, energy and location, thereby minimizing energy and transportation costs. U.S. Steel Senior Vice President and Head of Strategy and Sustainability Rich Fruehauf said, "U.S. Steel is committed to advancing our decarbonization and acceleration toward a lower-carbon future as outlined in our Climate Strategy Report, but we know that one company's actions are not sufficient. Achieving our net-zero emissions target by 2050 will require unprecedented innovation and collaboration." After CO2 emissions are captured from the atmosphere, the liquefied gas will be transported to Ozinga ready-mix concrete facilities using CarbonCure's CO2 removal and utilization technologies, which inject CO2 directly into concrete as it is being mixed. When injected, CO2 is immediately mineralized and locked in the concrete, never to return to the atmosphere. CarbonCure Technologies President and CEO Robert Niven said, "Permanent CO2 storage is a critical component of carbon removal. As the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has made explicit, the 'centuries or longer' permanent storage provided by carbon mineralization in concrete is a critical component of durable carbon removal," adding "CarbonCure is excited to contribute to this important research that will help scale the solutions we need to secure our climate future." Ozinga Vice President of Innovation and Market Development Ryan Cialdella said, "Ozinga's mission is to create positive impact and embracing innovation in concrete sustainability is key to providing a better environment for future generations. We believe early collaboration is important in finding the best solutions to reduce carbon emissions, and developing and testing lower-carbon concrete mix designs made it very appropriate for us to participate in this important work." [caption id="attachment_141557" align="aligncenter"] DAC using waste heat to capture CO2 for permanent storage in low-carbon concrete. (Graphic: CarbonCapture)[/caption] CarbonCapture Inc CEO Adrian Corless said, "We are very excited to participate in this groundbreaking work. Direct air capture is particularly effective when energy costs can be reduced through the use of waste heat and the captured CO2 can be permanently stored in concrete. At scale, we believe this solution will lead to the removal of large quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere." This FEED study will also provide data to Visage Energy Corp. to assess its impact on job creation, regional economic impact and environmental justice issues. Sargent & Lundy will provide the constructability review and costing for the integration of the DAC within the steel facility. Ecotek Group will design the infrastructure that will connect the DAC system and the facility to each other. In the project selection announcement, DOE stated that advances in DAC technology alongside aggressive decarbonization could play a critical role in combating the climate crisis and achieving the Biden-Harris Administration's goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Source