Octavia Carbon, the Global South’s first direct air capture (DAC) company, has agreed with Cella Mineral Storage, a carbon mineralization company, to build a pilot DAC facility at Cella's storage plant. Operations for ‘Project Hummingbird’ are due to begin in October 2024, with plans to sell carbon credits certified by leading carbon removal platform Puro.earth.

The DAC and storage facility will be located in Naivasha along the Great Rift Valley. It will leverage Kenya’s abundant geothermal renewable energy to capture CO2 from the atmosphere and store around 1 kiloton, or 1000 tons, of CO2 per year underground through CO2 mineralization partner, Cella.

Cella accelerates the natural process of rock weathering by injecting CO2 directly into volcanic rocks in the East African Rift, which has an estimated minimum storage potential of ~400 gigatons of CO2.

The plant will apply strict monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) criteria, working under leading carbon removal platform Puro.earth’s ICROA-endorsed Standard for Geologically Stored Carbon. 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.

Project Hummingbird is expected to begin generating commercial carbon credits in October 2024 under the Puro Standard, which uses science-based laboratory testing and third-party auditing to verify all CO2 Removal Certificates (CORCs) for authenticity and long-term durability. Credits are now available for pre-purchase through carbon credit marketplace partner Cloverly, which will be delivered over the next 10 years.

Antti Vihavainen, CEO of Puro.earth said, “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 said, “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.”

Corey Pattison, CEO of Cella said, “Our storage facility in Kenya is amongst the largest of its kind that permanently removes CO2 through mineralization in basalts for negative emissions. We chose Kenya for its unique combination of geology and geothermal energy, which provides ideal conditions for DAC partners, and we're thrilled to welcome Octavia, Kenya's own DAC company, to our site.”

Jason Rubottom, CEO of Cloverly said, “Scaling climate action relies on participation from all over the world. Through partnerships like these, we connect organizations looking to invest in carbon removal with high-integrity projects. DAC, in particular, plays a critical role in removing existing carbon from the atmosphere and thus represents an exciting addition to the Cloverly Marketplace.”

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