Gracie WarhurstNorth America’s second direct air capture (DAC) facility will be built in Shreveport, Louisiana, with construction beginning by the end of the year. The project, located at the Port of Caddo-Bossier, is a part of four investments from the Department of Energy (DOE) totaling $3.5 billion.
DAC facilities make it possible to extract carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and then store or convert it into another material. DAC technology is essential for balancing continuing legacy emissions to mitigate the effects of climate change.
The specific DAC technology for this site uses a kiln powered by renewable energy and will be implemented by Heirloom Carbon Technologies, a decarbonization company. Heirloom plans to partner with CapturePoint, a Texas carbon management company, to store the captured CO2 in an underground facility.
Construction of the first facility of Project Cypress is set to begin by the end of the year, with the goal of removing approximately 17,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere annually starting in 2026.
A second facility is also planned as part of the project, which developers say will create one of the world’s largest DAC hubs in Louisiana, with up to $550 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
“Louisiana is well positioned to become America’s leader in safely storing carbon dioxide,” Gov. Jeff Landry said in a statement. “The expansion of Project Cypress Direct Air Capture Hub across the state represents the best of Louisiana — cutting-edge technology at the forefront of the energy economy, powered by innovation and a broad base of highly skilled workers.”
Heirloom’s expansion into Louisiana follows the launch of North America’s first DAC facility in California last year, which operates under decarbonization agreements with major corporations such as Microsoft. Both states were chosen as part of the four projects funded by $3.5 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
The Regional Direct Air Capture (DAC) Hubs program is a part of the DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations and has a goal of creating four large scale commercial facilities that can each capture at least 1 million metric tons of CO2 annually from the atmosphere.
Photo courtesy of the Department of Energy
