Each month we highlight a company we have researched and features on our Ethical Screening Portal, this month we look at Aker Carbon Capture.
Electrical Equipment Sector
The Electronics and Electrical Equipment sector consists of companies that primarily manufacture a wide variety of electrical components and equipment, including wires, batteries, insulators, transistors, electronic motors, and monitoring systems, among many other technologies.
Company activities can link to a number of products with positive characteristics such as control products for energy efficiency, sensors for detecting pollution, components of medical products and others for renewable energy. Potential negatives in the sector may include hazardous materials, and labour issues with component assembly in the supply chain. As an example of more positive activities, we have selected Aker Carbon Capture, which is in the Electronic Equipment: Pollution Control sub-sector.
Aker Carbon Capture
As a subsidiary of Aker Horizons, an investment company dedicated to developing companies that address global sustainability issues, Aker Carbon Capture (ACC) makes up one of its five “planet-positive” portfolio companies. Incorporated in 2020 and headquartered in Lysaker, Norway, ACC provides products and services for carbon capture, utilization, and storage. The company has developed its carbon capture technology since 2005 and began offering it commercially in 2009.
What is carbon capture?
Carbon capture and storage/sequestration (CCS) is the process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) before it enters the atmosphere, transporting it via ship or pipeline, and storing it deep underground in geological formations. It is used as a way of reducing CO2 from industrial processes and can potentially play a key role in helping to tackle global warming.
ACC’s carbon capture process uses a mixture of water and organic amine solvents to absorb CO2 emissions from various sources, including gas, coal, cement, refineries, and waste-to-energy and other process industries. It offers carbon capture plants under the ‘Just Catch’ and ‘Big Catch’ brands, as well as mobile test units. The company’s ‘Carbon Capture as a Service’ option incorporates the management of the full CCS value chain, from commissioning the carbon capture plant and operating it, handling the transportation and storage processes and expanding capacity by adding additional modules.
Key points
- While carbon capture technology has been used since the 1920s, specifically for separating CO2 sometimes found in natural gas reservoirs from methane, it became fully utilized in the 1970s in the USA. The captured CO2 would be piped to a nearby oil field and injected to boost oil recovery, a process known as Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR).
- As of September 2021, there were 15 direct air capture plants operating worldwide, capturing more than 9,000 tons of CO2 per year, according to the IEA. Such as small amount is only equivalent to the emissions from approximately 1,800 cars.
- ACC’s process has a CO2 capture rate of about 90%, which achieves more than 99% CO2 purity.
- Although CCS is considered by some to be a vital climate mitigation technology, certain environmental groups view it as an expensive fossil fuel subsidy that could inadvertently prolong our reliance on fossil fuels, rather than reduce it.
Aker Carbon Capture is a company that features on our Ethical Screening Portal. To find out more about this company, or our services please contact info@ethicalscreening.com
Sources:
https://www.meanseng.com/top-5-challenges-faced-by-electronics-manufacturers/
https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/energy-explained/what-is-ccs-how-does-it-work
https://akercarboncapture.com/offerings/carbon-capture-as-a-service/
https://ieaghg.org/docs/General_Docs/Publications/Information_Sheets_for_CCS_2.pdf
https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/worlds-largest-plant-capturing-carbon-air-starts-iceland-2021-09-08/