Turning plant waste into carbon-sequestering bricks to combat climate change

Graphyte, a startup supported by Bill Gates, aims to fight climate change by burying carbon-sequestering bricks made from plant waste deep underground.

Ramin Skibba reports for Undark Magazine.

In short:

Graphyte has developed a method to create carbon-sequestering bricks from plant waste, which are then buried to trap carbon dioxide.
The company's goal is to store 50,000 tons of carbon annually, though experts question if this scale is sufficient to impact global emissions.
The carbon removal industry faces challenges such as scalability, cost, and potential ethical concerns about diverting focus from emission reduction.

Key quote:

“I’m worried about our scale of deployment. I think we need to get serious fast.”

— Barclay Rogers, CEO of Graphyte

Why this matters:

Carbon removal technologies are important, as cutting emissions alone may not be enough to avoid catastrophic climate impacts. Innovative solutions like Graphyte’s bricks could play a significant role if they can scale effectively and economically.

undark.org

Turning plant waste into carbon-sequestering bricks to combat climate change

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