Banyu Carbon is developing a simple, affordable carbon removal process that uses a light-activated compound to drive CO₂ out of seawater while producing more electricity than it consumes. When implemented on a large scale, this process is expected to profitably assist in mitigating the most severe consequences of climate change.
FELLOWS
Julian Sachs
Julian Sachs, co-founder, and chief science officer of Banyu Carbon, earned his B.S. and Ph.D. in chemical oceanography from MIT and has studied climate for over 20 years. Sachs became passionate about climate science after evacuating Martha's Vineyard in advance of a hurricane and experiencing a week-long school closure due to a blizzard in New Jersey. Currently on leave from the University of Washington faculty, he brings his expertise as an organic geochemist to the forefront of his work.
Alex Gagnon
Alex Gagnon, co-founder and CEO of Banyu Carbon, earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from Caltech, a B.S. from UC Berkeley, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Currently, on leave from the University of Washington faculty, he brings expertise in marine carbon, chemical oceanography, and climate to his science and business roles. Gagnon received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award.
TECHNOLOGY
Critical Need
The decarbonization of the global economy is comparable to the Apollo Moon Shot of the present century. In addition to the widespread adoption of renewable energy, any serious plan to prevent global temperatures from exceeding dangerous limits requires the removal of billions of tons of carbon dioxide annually. However, there exists a substantial gap between this pressing need and the current capabilities that are expensive, energy-intensive, and 100,000X too small. Therefore, it is imperative to develop and deploy affordable, scalable carbon removal solutions with haste. The ocean will play a central role in carbon removal because it is the largest readily exchangeable reservoir of CO₂ on Earth.
Technology Vision
Banyu Carbon has developed a simple and cost-effective approach to carbon removal that is based on a reusable, sunlight-activated chemical process. Seawater naturally accumulates CO₂ from the atmosphere, and the ocean has absorbed a third of all atmospheric carbon emissions. Removing carbon from the surface ocean is equivalent to removing it from the air because the two reservoirs equilibrate on the timescale of months. Banyu Carbon's chemical process drives CO₂ out of seawater, enabling it to be permanently stored or used in industrial processes. Additionally, this process produces a considerable amount of solar electricity by leveraging the excess sunlight that passes through photoreactors.
Potential for Impact
Banyu Carbon aims to dramatically lower the cost of carbon removal, helping mitigate the most detrimental impacts of climate change. Once fully scaled, Banyu Carbon's new, energy-efficient approach will facilitate the removal of hundreds of millions of tons of carbon annually. This will enable nations and corporations to meet their ambitious climate targets and accelerate the transition toward a net-zero carbon economy.