First MechanicalTree™ to be unveiled at ASU’s Tempe campus

This passive carbon collection technology developed by Klaus Lackner could spawn thousands of CO2-capturing tree farms across the globe.

Carbon levels in the atmosphere are at an all-time high, and many climate scientists predict a grim future for the planet. To successfully reach the 1.5° C target outlined in the Paris Agreement, global emissions need to fall by 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 and reach net zero around 2050. Considering the path we are on now, experts are expressing concern that it’s likely too late to halt or even slow the effects of global warming. In response to this, researchers at the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory are synthesizing ideas and developing technology that will not only slow carbon emissions, but reverse them.

Imagine a single tree that does the work of 1,000 trees in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Klaus Lackner, director of the Center for Negative Carbon Emissions (CNCE) and global futures scientist at the laboratory, made this a reality with his MechanicalTree. The MechanicalTree has leaves just like a regular tree, in that they bind CO2 to their surface. But these “leaves” come in the form of large disks stacked in a column that stands at around 30 feet in height. The column contains 150 of these disks, which become loaded with CO2 as wind passes

through the open column. After about an hour or so, the column begins to collapse into its base. Once sealed inside the base, the CO2 collected from the air is converted into purified, compacted carbon that can either be sequestered in the ground or commercialized for use in industries like agriculture.

“The situation has gotten to the point where we need to stop talking about it and start doing something about it,” says Lackner. “Carbon dioxide is a waste product we produce every time we drive our cars or turn on the lights in our homes. Our device can recycle it, bringing it out of the atmosphere to either bury it or use it as an industrial gas.”

CNCE has partnered with Carbon Collect Inc., to commercialize the trees, which is key for scaling production as well as establishing MechanicalTrees in the market as a source of carbon for commercial use.

Reyad Fezzani, a director at Carbon Collect, told the State Press, “What we’re trying to do is reduce the cost per ton to the lowest level possible, ideally below $100. Today, carbon dioxide is manufactured at much higher prices.”

The first MechanicalTree is currently being fabricated in Wisconsin and is on track to be unveiled at ASU’s Tempe campus in early 2022. Lackner and his team envision this single tree spawning hundreds, thousands and ultimately billions. The future of passive carbon capture could look like hundreds of these “tree farms” all over the world. Currently, the Carbon Capture–ASU team is designing three of these farms for three distinct geographical locations using a commercial-scale system that can draw 1,000 tons of CO2 from the air every day.

Additionally, carbon collecting technologies are highly attractive to big corporations in the fuel industry. These corporations are responsible for the bulk of emissions, so there is mounting pressure to either decrease use of fossil fuels or scale up sustainable technology that mitigates the industry’s harm to the planet.

“The amount of CO2 we put out year to year is increasing. If we want to stabilize the CO2, our emissions have to get close to zero,” warns Lackner. “Very simply, that’s what our device does.”

When we think about the challenges that are laid out before us, we can point to greenhouse gas emissions as the culprit behind many of our planet’s woes. Not only do these gases pollute the air we breathe, but they also lead to extreme weather events such as storms, heat waves and droughts, as well as melting glaciers, rising sea levels and warming of ocean waters. MechanicalTrees and other methods of passive carbon capture are going to be essential in healing the damage that humans have caused. Many people are waking up to the realities that environmentalists and climate scientists have been warning us of for years — the next five to 10 years will be pivotal. Despite the daunting challenges ahead, Lackner continues to spread a message of hope for the future of the planet: “We can do it. We can provide the energy the world needs, and we can clean up after ourselves.”