Energean has struck a deal to use RepAir’s direct air capture (DAC) technology at its carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in Greece, in a pioneering move for Europe.

London-listed Energean is working on the Prinos CCS project, via its EnEarth subsidiary. The project is based on a mature oilfield and has existing infrastructure in place. It is currently in the front-end engineering and design (FEED) stage.

Under this new agreement, it will install RepAir’s system onshore, with a connection to the saline aquifer in Kavala.

Energean has a plan for onshore facilities at the Sigma plant. This will capture CO2 volumes from local emitters, although there are plans to scale up in future with deliveries via ship.

EnEarth should take the final investment decision (FID) by the first quarter of 2025.

The company expects to begin storing CO2 in early 2026. By 2028, it will be fully operational and capturing 3 million tonnes per year of CO2.

RepAir will take a minor part in this total. In 2026, it expects to capture 1,000 tpy of CO2, reaching 100,000 tpy by 2030 and “gigatonne” scale by 2035. It expects to take an FID on the first stage at around the same time as EnEarth.

EnEarth head of carbon storage Nikolas Rigas said the agreement with RepAir was intended to create a “green hub” in northern Greece, serving the wider Eastern Mediterranean.

“By repurposing existing infrastructure, the partnership introduces a novel approach to industrial environmental sustainability,” he noted.

RepAir’s DAC technology “can reach significant scale, in a short timeframe. The Prinos CO2 Storage project is strategically located to serve emitters of the region and will generate new green jobs and know-how, as part of a broader just industrial and energy transition.”

Counting costs

DAC is often seen as expensive way to capture emissions. Climeworks’s DAC technology, for instance, is aiming to reach a cost of $250-350 per tonne by 2030, with all in costs of $400-600 per tonne. This would cut costs by around 50% from today.

RepAir claims that, at a gigatonne scale, it can provide capture costs of $50 per tonne. The Israeli company’s technology is wholly electric and produces zero heat.

On a per tonne removed basis, it requires just 600 kWh, while avoiding the use of liquids or solvents. It also claims to produce no waste or hazardous materials. RepAir uses proprietary electrochemical cell technology to capture carbon.

The challenge for RepAir will be to achieve its economies of scale. The company’s business model relies on offtake agreements for carbon credits, signed with companies looking to offset their emissions.

It has previously reached a deal with Frontier and is negotiating longer-term offtakes agreements.

RepAir CEO Amir Shiner said the agreement with Energean was the “strongest possible validation of our ability to provide an efficient and affordable, large-scale carbon dioxide removal solution”.

Shiner noted the maturity of the Prinos plan, Energean’s “entrepreneurial spirit and the endorsement of the European and national authorities will enable a fast scale up, which is perfectly aligned with our vision”.

The European Recovery and Resilience Facility has committed 150 million euros (£126mn) to Prinos, which is on the Projects of Common Interest (PCI) list.

Finding the edge

RepAir did not shed light on whether its technology at the Prinos facility would be driven by renewable energy. It has previously been keen to source such supplies, though.

In April, it struck a deal with Cella for a DAC and storage facility in Kenya’s Rift Valley. Cella has been working on plans to deploy its mineralisation technology in Kenya. Cella’s storage process turns CO2 into rock underground.

The agreement will see the two companies working together in the area, co-located with geothermal energy.

RepAir chairman Yehuda Borenstein has said that it would be better to use renewable energy for DAC projects, rather than swapping out other sources of energy on the grid. Such a move, he said, “would lower the carbon abatement cost, accelerate decarbonisation, and help us achieve our net zero goals”.

Borenstein claimed that the company’s DAC technology can “remove two times more carbon” than replacing fossil fuel-fired power plants with renewable energy.

RepAir’s DAC field prototype

Technological focus

The DAC space is becoming more competitive, with new entrants driving technological change.

Historically there have been two approaches, the use of porous solid sorbents as demonstrated by Climeworks, or the use of a liquid solution to absorb CO2, as seen by Climate Engineering. The latter has struck deals with US-based 1pointFive and is working on projects such as synthetic fuels. In 2023, Occidental Petroleum – a CCS and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) pioneer – announced a deal to buy Climate Engineering.

These other technologies have higher power consumption. Climeworks requires around 2,000 kWh per tonne removed, while Climate Engineering needs 2,400 kWh.

The use of an electrochemical process – such as RepAir’s – is less widespread, but could potentially help the sector cut costs.

The use of co-location for DAC and CCS facilities is not entirely novel. For instance, DAC company Heimdal announced a deal to locate its facility at the Oklahoma Carbon Hub, in January this year. The project aims to capture 7,000 tpy, with a plan to “expand in tandem” with CapturePoint, the hub operator.

However, teaming up in this way will be a crucial part of driving down costs. The aim is to bring DAC down to below $100 per tonne stored. Economies of scale and co-location can help achieve this.

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