• The technology is expected to create high-quality green jobs.
• It is a first-of-its-kind project, bringing CO2 capture and local production of sustainable materials together.

The UK firm Mission Zero, which converts captured carbon dioxide (CO2) into sustainable building materials, is setting up one of the UK's first direct carbon capture plants in Wretham, Norfolk.

Their technology captures CO2 from the atmosphere, which, in turn, helps reduce those heat-trapping gases, particularly CO2, that cause global warming. The CO2 will then be used to make limestone-based building materials for application in roads and construction projects.

O.C.O. Technology, another company specialising in carbon capture, receives the CO2 from Mission Zero. The former produces "sustainable aggregate," a type of material made from fly ash or slag. Incidentally, O.C.O. used to import CO2, but now, with the help of Mission Zero's plant, it uses CO2 captured locally.

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The companies claim that this is a world-first setup, bringing CO2 removal and local production of sustainable materials together.

Direct carbon capture is one of the effective ways to rein in climate change. The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has been increasing at an unprecedented rate, with studies pointing to an upsurge of 40% since 1900.

Even though Mission Zero can remove only 250 tonnes of CO2 a year, compared to the UK's total emissions of more than 400 million tonnes, the company says that this is the first leg of the project to test and scale the technology.

Another important object of this partnership is to create high-quality green jobs in the region. Mission Zero exhorts skilled workers from other industries to join the green transition. Some jobs in the sector include working at a real chemical plant and capturing and storing CO2 safely.

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Dr Nicholas Chadwick, co-founder of Mission Zero, says this project redefines our relationship with carbon. He says carbon, in and of itself, is not bad at all, but we have been taking it from unsustainable sources like fossil fuels. Carbon already in the air can displace fossil-derived carbon in industrial processes, thus reducing the harm done to the planet.

Despite the project being small in comparison to the larger climate problem, the team believes now is the time to prove the technology. Once that is done, it can be scaled up and made cheaper, helping to curb the climate crisis meaningfully.

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Source: BBC