Octavia Carbon, a direct air capture (DAC) and storage plant company, and Cella Mineral Storage, a carbon mineralisation company, have agreed to build a pilot DAC facility in Naivasha, Kenya
Named ‘Project Hummingbird’, the project will see the delivery of a pilot DAC facility at Cella’s storage plant and will begin in October 2024. It will leverage the country’s abundant geothermal renewable energy potential in order to capture CO2 from the atmosphere and store it underground. Plans to sell carbon credits will be certified by leading carbon removal platform, Puro.earth.
Cella accelerates the natural process of rock weathering by injecting CO2 directly into volcanic rocks in the East African Rift. Octavia Carbon is expected to become the world’s first DAC company operating in an emerging market to be certified under an ICROA-endorsed methodology.
Antti Vihavainen, CEO of Puro.earth, commented, “This project will mark the beginning of a new industry for trusted carbon removals in Kenya. We are pleased to be involved in this landmark development, helping ensure that the Kenyan engineered CO2 removal industry is built with integrity and credibility from the start. The voluntary carbon markets are gaining significant momentum globally, and we applaud Octavia Carbon pioneering the net zero transition through carbon removals in Africa and the Global South.”
Martin Freimüller, Octavia Carbon founder & CEO, remarked, “Our mission is to position Kenya as a climate change vanguard by making Octavia Carbon a leading force in reversing climate change and ending the fossil fuel age. Through this first-of-its-kind facility and planned extensions, we aim to work alongside partners Cella Mineral Storage and Puro.earth to lead the charge on developing African climate tech innovation.”
