Pilot Energy and Capture6 team up to jump start DAC tech project

Pilot Energy signs a binding joint development agreement (JDA) with Capture6 – provider of integrated direct air capture (DAC) and water treatment technology

JDA enables phased development of Capture6’s tech at Pilot’s Mid West Clean Energy Project (MWCEP)

Potential to reduce the cost and environmental impact of the MWCEP’s water handling system, while generating revenue from the future sale of carbon removal credits and by-products

Special Report: Pilot Energy has signed a binding JDA with Capture6 for the phased development of direct air capture technology at Pilot’s MWCEP.

The first activity under the JDA is a demonstration of Capture6’s water processing and DAC technology, which will be deployed in 2025 within the existing Arrowsmith site.

The technology has potential to significantly cut the net cost of treating water from future MWCEP carbon storage operations. It can additionally provide Pilot (ASX:PGY) a potential future revenue stream from the sale of carbon removal credits.

The demonstration activity is part of Project Wallaby, which is being initiated under the JDA with the support of the $6.5m Commonwealth Carbon Capture Technologies Program grant.

The majority of the year one expenditure for Project Wallaby will be drawn from the initial $3m grant funds Pilot received in August this year.

Project Wallaby includes four phases aligned with the development of Pilot’s MWCEP and will be undertaken on a joint venture basis (20% Pilot, 80% Capture6).

Strong momentum

The MWCEP has been building strong momentum in past months. That’s come via Commonwealth support in Australia and the backing of a consortium of major Korean industrial companies, known as the K-Consortium, as part South Korea’s plans to generate most of its electricity from carbon-free energy sources by 2038.

The K-Consortium, which comprises Korean Southern Power, Korea East West Power, Samsung C&T and Approtium, was recently awarded ~ $2.2m to support ongoing work on the MWCEP.

The Phase 1 demonstration initiative will be followed by the Phase 1a expansion in 2026 to facilitate revenue from water sales, low carbon chemicals and high-purity carbon dioxide sales

Phase 2, scheduled for 2028-29, involves full-scale deployment to manage approximately two giga litres of water produced during carbon storage operations. This will be supported by up to 80,000 tonnes per annum DAC atmospheric carbon removal.

Phase 3 targets expanded DAC of up to 350,000 tonnes per annum atmospheric carbon removal, with even more scaling potential.

Separately, during the first year of the Commonwealth grant funding, Pilot will complete feasibility studies on the carbon supply chain with emitters across Western Australia, including delivery at Cliff Head from the source of emissions.

Pilot’s chairman Brad Lingo said: “The Joint Development Agreement marks an important step in our progress at the MWCEP, enabling our pilot project with Capture6.

“The world-leading technology Capture6 will bring to the MWCEP can materially reduce the cost and environmental impact of the MWCEP’s water handling system.

“It has also demonstrated the potential to generate revenue from the future sale of carbon removal credits and by-products, which may include hydrogen.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Capture6, which is working with large organisations across the globe to build viable carbon removal solutions at scale to support sustainable growth.”

Ethan Cole, Capture6’ co-founder and CEO said: “Capture6 is excited to partner with Pilot Energy to scale carbon removal and wider decarbonisation in Western Australia while also working to address increasing water insecurity in the region”.

DAC tech at a glance

DAC is an engineering process that does what trees and plants do in nature – acting like a sponge to remove CO2 directly from the atmosphere.

It’s backed by some of the world’s largest organisations – including Microsoft, Amazon, Coca-Cola, Lego and the US Department of Energy – though it’s not yet widely understood.

Capturing atomic number 6

Capture6 has developed a proprietary DAC technology that uses a liquid sorbent to soak up CO2 from ambient air (atmospheric air in its natural state).

The cutting-edge technique involves splitting salt through electrochemical processes and can operate at ambient temperatures. This avoids the need for energy-intensive heat, which is a common drawback of DAC.

Another benefit of Capture6’s tech is that it produces fresh water – a highly valuable commodity in the dry Mid West of WA.

The company recently received an award from the US Department of Energy to help make its DAC process even more efficient and less energy intensive.

How Project Wallaby fits into MWCEP

The first stage of the MWCEP, with an expected launch in 2027-28, will offer permanent storage capacity exceeding 1 million tonnes of CO2 annually, making it one of the world’s largest carbon capture and storage facilities.

Its next stage, set to launch in 2029, involves the MWCEP producing up to one million tonnes of clean ammonia from the captured carbon for export into key APAC markets, such as South Korea and Japan.

This article was developed in collaboration with Pilot Energy, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.