News

Nūxsen’s new CarbonJet (patent pending) and SlipStream (patent pending) systems will advance direct air capture (DAC) technology by allowing the rapid processing of large volumes of air.

To reach gigaton scale, significant amounts of ambient air must be processed since CO₂ is extremely dilute, only ~420 parts per million. To capture 1 metric ton of CO₂, at least 1.2 million cubic meters of air must be processed. Put into context, this is a little more than the volume of air in a typical NFL football stadium or in the Empire State Building.

“Many DAC companies rely on liquid or powder sorbents to capture CO₂. This creates engineering challenges and causes sorbent depletion leading to inefficiency and environmental risk,” said Christopher Wight, Nūxsen CEO. “Our liquid-free electrochemical sorbent is bonded to stable supports which solves these problems.”

The CarbonJet and SlipStream reactors consist of electrochemically-activated cellular monolithic sorbent geometries that canprocess up to 200,000 cubic meters of air per hour with relatively low pressure drop.

“This represents a significant increase over incumbent technologies,” said Arthur Shih, Nūxsen’s Lead Engineer. “Electrochemical activation of our DAC sorbent allows us to capture and release CO₂ in minutes rather than hours or days. Short cycle time, sorbent stability, and high airflow rates enable our reactors to capture and sequester CO₂ orders of magnitude faster than leading technologies.”

In a series of tests completed this week, Nūxsen, in collaboration with the National Energy Technology Laboratory’s Direct Air Capture Center in Pittsburgh, PA, successfully captured CO₂ from a mixed gas stream similar to ambient air.

In outside (ambient) air, CO₂ is extremely dilute, only ~420 parts per million, which makes it very difficult to capture. To mitigate the effects of climate change, the level of CO₂ in the atmosphere must be reduced to pre-industrial levels, approximately 280 parts per million.

“Decarbonizing electrical grids and hard-to-abate sectors only achieves net-zero emissions which is not enough to reverse global warming,” said Christopher Wight, Nūxsen CEO. “We need to develop technologies to remove previously emitted CO₂ to have any chance of meeting IPCC climate goals.”

A lab-scale reactor at the DAC Center successfully captured 2.6 grams (1.32 liters) of CO₂ using a patented sorbent material, a milestone in Nūxsen’s technology development.

With additional investment, Nūxsen is planning a demonstration project in 2025 on a larger scale.

Nūxsen has entered into an agreement with the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory, to produce and test a novel chemical sorbent which will be used for removing carbon dioxide from ambient air.

The sorbent material will be produced and tested under direct air capture (DAC) conditions at the new NETL Direct Air Capture Center in Pittsburgh, PA.

“This collaboration with Nūxsen is very exciting for us at the NETL Direct Air Capture Center,” said David Luebke, Technical Director of the center. “It allows us to support a commercial partner in bringing an innovative new material to projects which will help advance the nation’s carbon dioxide removal goals.”

The material being tested is intended to be used in Nūxsen’s recently announced DAC reactor designs, Nūxsen CarbonJet and Nūxsen SlipStream. Provisional patents were filed covering novel geometries and configurations to maximize exposure to the sorbent while minimizing pressure drop. These innovations have the potential to be significantly more efficient than other DAC systems currently being deployed.

“We look forward to testing at the DAC Center in Pittsburgh as soon as possible,” said Christopher Wight, Nūxsen CEO. “When we can prove our technology represents a leap forward in the science, we will be ready for large-scale commercial deployment. Our innovations also have potential for aerospace and defense applications, specifically for submersibles and
spacecraft.”

Founded in 2022, Nūxsen is based in New York, NY and is planning carbon dioxide removal operations in several locations across the US with future plans to expand internationally. Nūxsen is partnering with sequestration companies and manufacturers of products which can permanently sequester CO2 such as building materials and advanced aviation fuels.

The US Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, announced the finalists for the Direct Air Capture Pre-Commercial Technology Prize. Nūxsen is one of seven Phase 1 winners who will receive a cash prize and a technology voucher to further advance direct air capture science. Nūxsen and the other winners will proceed to Phase 2 of the contest which concludes in September 2024.

Nūxsen is one of a very small number of companies focusing on electrochemical innovations to remove the thermal energy requirement from current state-of-the-art carbon dioxide removal technologies. “Until we can operate large-scale direct air capture systems using nuclear power, we need to find ways to make the process less energy intensive,” said Christopher Wight, Nūxsen CEO. “Emergent electromechical technologies like our VCRx and E-ReGEN platforms will solve this problem.”

Nūxsen was named one of six finalists for AMBA’s prestigious Start-up of the Year award. The Association of MBAs (AMBA) accredits over 300 of the world’s leading business schools. The award is presented annually to the start-up which shows the most promise for commercial success.

The winner will be announced later this year. All finalists will be recognized at an awards ceremony to be held in London in January 2024.

“We are humbled and honored to have been selected as a finalist among nominees from AMBA’s network of top business schools in over 75 countries,” said Christopher Wight, Nūxsen CEO. “I would like to thank Arian Prins and Marta Castelo Branco for our initial brainstorming sessions which were the inspiration for Nūxsen, and the core team members who have helped us move towards commercial readiness, especially Garrick Villaume and Andie Matten. We thank the entire AMBA community for their support and we look forward to attending the ceremony in London.”

Learn more AMBA and the other distinguished finalists:

Celebrating Excellence in Business Education - Unveiling the Finalists for the AMBA-BGA Excellence Awards 2024

Today the US Department of Energy invited Nūxsen to participate in the upcoming Clean Energy on Mine Lands Workshops that are being held to inform the Clean Energy Demonstration Program on Current and Former Mine Land program as it develops plans for funding opportunities.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes $500 million in funding for clean energy demonstration projects in geographically diverse regions.

“Nūxsen is uniquely positioned to partner with DOE on this initiative. We incorporate many of the technologies DOE is interested in investing in into one project. These technologies include advanced nuclear, direct air capture, CO2 sequestration, CO2 usage, and microgrids,” said Christopher Wight, CEO of Nūxsen.

Nūxsen today responded to the US Department of Energy’s Request for Information (RFI) for the Clean Energy Demonstration Program on Current and Former Mine Land. The program is part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

The BIL provides the backbone for a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable economy by enhancing U.S. competitiveness, diversifying regional economies, creating good-paying jobs, and ensuring stronger access to economic opportunities for underserved communities.

Nūxsen provided key insights to the program manager regarding the potential for advanced nuclear systems (small modular reactors) to power CO2 net-negative technologies.

In a direct response to DOE’s interest in demonstration projects that utilize two or more clean energy technologies for innovative mine land conversion projects to revitalize and re-balance the nationwide electrical grid, Nuxsen supported and encouraged investments in safe, clean, and renewable nuclear power. Nūxsen is in the early stages of its effort to help bring small modular reactors to market to support any combination of direct air capture, CO2 sequestration, and CO2 utilization facilities.

“The closing of a mining operation typically has a major economic impact on communities resulting in the loss of thousands of direct and indirect jobs, and leaving behind adverse environmental issues,” said Christopher Wight, CEO of Nūxsen. “The remote locations of many former mines often means limited opportunities for job creation necessary to employ displaced workers. We appreciate DOE's innovative approach and we look forward to partnering with them to combine multiple technologies that will benefit communities and the environment.”