Fighting Global Warming In Space, Israeli Startup Develops Carbon Capture Balloon

Hot air balloons can be used to capture carbon in space. (photo: doc. unsplash)

JAKARTA - An Israeli startup has joined the fight against global warming by seeking inspiration in the upper atmosphere. They hope to send a fleet of balloons that will trap carbon dioxide for recycling.

Carbon dioxide emissions, from burning fossil fuels and from industrial agriculture, are a major cause of climate change. But removing CO2 from the atmosphere at standard temperatures requires too much energy for governments and companies to consider cost-effective.

High Hopes Labs developed a system that captures nearly frozen carbon, far above Earth.

"The beautiful thing is that catching gas is so easy when it's almost frozen...," CEO Nadav Mansdorf told Reuters.

"Carbon freezes at minus 80 degrees (Celsius) and the only place where we can find carbon at temperatures close to that is 15 kilometers above our heads," Mansdorf said.

The company has been testing the system on a small scale, says Mansdorf, which releases a gas-filled balloon with a box that acts as a carbon capture device attached to the bottom. The frozen carbon is then separated from the air to be brought back to earth where it can be recycled.

The company aims to build larger balloons within two years that could each be used to remove one tonne of carbon per day at a cost of under $100. “This is much cheaper than comparable onshore facilities currently in use,” said Mansdorf.