U.S.-based climate technology firm Verdox has completed a breakthrough trial demonstrating the capture of carbon emissions directly from aluminum smelting — one of the most stubborn industrial sources of greenhouse gases. The pilot, conducted with Hydro, the Norwegian aluminum and renewable energy producer, marks a step toward making low-carbon aluminum a commercial reality.
Hydro (formerly known as Norsk Hydro) owns a stake in Verdox and the two-month test took place at its Sunndal plant, the largest primary aluminum production facility in Europe. There, Verdox successfully removed carbon dioxide from an exhaust stream with just 1% CO2 concentration — an exceptionally low level that has historically made capture both technically and economically prohibitive. The process also withstood impurities typically found in aluminum-smelting off-gases.
“Successful testing on industrial gases marks a defining milestone in Verdox’s scale-up and demonstrates that our technology is nearing industrial deployment,” said Friedrich von Gottberg, Verdox’s chief executive. “Electrochemical carbon-capture offers the most energy and cost-efficient pathway to industrial decarbonization.”