Many new technologies are rapidly proliferating to capture CO₂, but the problem of what to do with it once it's captured persists. Cella takes captured CO₂ and injects it underground into basaltic rocks, converting it to a solid mineral and locking it away forever.
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Claire Nelson
Claire Nelson is the co-founder and CTO of Cella. As a postdoctoral researcher with David Goldberg at Columbia University, she developed a novel method of carbon mineralization for CO₂ geologic storage. Previously, her field-based Ph.D. research at Northwestern University investigated how basalt weathering sequesters atmospheric carbon. Nelson’s goal at Cella is to use basalt to increase the supply of durable storage options for captured CO₂, both to prevent and reverse climate change.
TECHNOLOGY
Critical Need
Carbon capture and storage will undoubtedly play a crucial role in the fight against climate change. Geologic carbon storage is at the epicenter of decarbonization, and many burgeoning CO₂ removal technologies rely critically on access to permanent storage. However, the development of new storage technologies fails to keep pace with the growing need for durable and verifiable storage. Carbon storage in basalt offers a secure and scalable long-term CO₂ storage solution.
Technology Vision
Injecting CO₂ into underground basaltic rock formations is the most durable and verifiable means of carbon storage. This is because the CO₂ chemically reacts with the minerals hosted within basaltic rocks, transforming the CO₂ from a gas into a solid mineral. Mineralized carbon is the most stable form of carbon—therefore carbon sequestered in basaltic rock is locked away forever. Cella is developing a new mineralization technique that can be tailored to different geological parameters, broadening the geographic range for this application.
Potential for Impact
Accelerating storage solutions that complement CO₂ removal processes is necessary to tackle atmospheric carbon removal and reduce the impact of climate change. Besides providing a pathway to storage, eliminating leakage risk in underground mineralized CO₂ storage dramatically reduces liability and long-term monitoring costs. Cella's optimized injection and monitoring method lowers costs and minimizes water consumption when compared to existing mineralization methods, delivering a high-quality carbon storage option that can be used alongside both point-source capture and direct air capture technologies.
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