Houston-based cleantech company 1PointFive is among the recipients of e-commerce giant Amazon’s first investments in carbon-fighting direct air capture (DAC).
Amazon has agreed to buy 250,000 metric tons of carbon removal credits from Stratos, 1PointFive’s first DAC plant, over a 10-year span. That commitment is equivalent to the amount of carbon stored naturally across more than 290,000 acres of U.S. forecasts, says Amazon.
Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
1PointFive is a carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS) subsidiary of Houston-based energy company Occidental Petroleum.
The carbon captured for Amazon will be stored deep underground in saline aquifers — large geological rock formations that are saturated in saltwater.
As Amazon explains, DAC technology filters CO2 from the atmosphere and stores it in underground geological formations. Aside from being stored, removed carbon can be used to make building materials like bricks, cement, and concrete.
1PointFive is constructing its first DAC plant in Ector County, which is anchored by Odessa. The facility is expected to be the world’s largest DAC plant, capturing up to 500,000 tons of CO2 per year. Amazon Web Services (AWS) will provide real-time performance data for the plant.
“Amazon’s purchase and long-term contract represent a significant commitment to direct air capture as a vital carbon removal solution,” Michael Avery, president and general manager of 1PointFive, says in a news release. “We are excited to collaborate with Amazon to help them achieve their sustainability goals.”
1PointFive broke ground on the Stratos plant in April. Its project partners include British Columbia-based Carbon Engineering and Australia-based Worley. The plant is expected to be fully operational by mid-2025.
1PointFive envisions establishing more than 100 DAC facilities around the world by 2035.
The Amazon deal isn’t the only major deal for 1Point5 this summer.
In August, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a $600 million grant for a 1PointFive-operated DAC hub that will be built in South Texas. The more than 100,000-acre hub, comprising 30 individual DAC projects, eventually may remove and store up to 30 million metric tons of CO2 per year.
Also in August, Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) said it reached an agreement with 1PointFive to buy 10,000 metric tons of carbon removal credits per year over a three-year period starting in 2025. The credits will be generated by 1PointFive’s Stratos plant.
In the U.S., DAC has gotten a huge boost from the federal government. The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in 2022, includes tax credits for capturing and storing carbon via DAC.
The International Energy Agency says 27 DAC plants have been commissioned around the world, with at least 130 more in the development stage. One forecast predicts the value of the global market for DAC systems will climb past $2.3 billion by 2030.
