Boeing, SEDC Energy and Equatic, a company that removes CO2 from seawater have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop a carbon removal demonstration facility in the Malaysian state of Sarawak.
The project aims to advance carbon removal technology as well as supporting the Sarawak Government’s clean energy plans with significant environmental and economic benefits. SEDCE is the new energy arm of the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation.
Equatic is a marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) company that has said its commercial carbon dioxide removal (CDR) plant can drawdown carbon dioxide 99,000 times faster than the open ocean. The company pumps seawater to its onshore plant and uses renewable electricity to split the seawater into four streams (hydrogen, oxygen, acid, base). Passing an electrical current through seawater produces carbon-negative green hydrogen with which the company said it can replace 40% of the energy it uses for CDR. Equatic said it can accurately measure the carbon dioxide removed before the seawater is discharged in order to give an accounting for carbon credits.
The acid stream is neutralized with crushed rock to prevent ocean acidification. The base stream is contacted with the air to remove CO2. The solid carbonates are separated and the seawater is returned to the ocean with residual dissolved and solid inorganic carbon.
Equatic is one of several companies trying to tackle excessive CO2 in the ocean with carbon removal technology, although some organizations are still trying to ascertain whether such tactics, implemented in small areas of the ocean will ultimately prove positive or negative for ocean health.
SEDCE chief executive Robert Hardin said this partnership paves the way for carbon removal and hydrogen technology maturation.
“Equatic’s emerging technology has the potential to go beyond. Though this is a demonstration facility, it needs the right support and ecosystem to take it to the next level and Sarawak is the right place to be for clean hydrogen production and carbon removal,” said Hardin.
Boeing, with its 78-year partnership with Malaysia, intends to provide project development support for the demonstration facility, which is projected to begin operations in 2026.
Advancing carbon removals is one facet of Boeing’s strategy to decarbonize aviation, along with fleet renewal, renewable fuels, advanced technologies and operational efficiency.
The proposed demonstration facility aims to leverage Equatic’s seawater-based technology to remove 365 tons of carbon dioxide, while producing 10 tons of green hydrogen, and 80 tons of calcium carbonate (limestone) annually. The company said the project’s cost of operations will be offset by revenue generated from the sale of the three output streams.
“Carbon removal and green hydrogen are foundational pillars of Equatic’s mission to enable cost-effective, economy-wide decarbonization,” said Gaurav N. Sant, the co-founder and chief technology officer of Equatic. “By leveraging Sarawak’s green hydrogen mission, hydroelectric power base, and decarbonization goals, this project will accelerate the commercial scaling of our carbon removal technologies for the benefit of the region and across the world.”
This is Boeing’s second collaboration with Equatic. In 2023, it entered into a pre-purchase option agreement with Equatic to remove 62,000 tons of carbon dioxide and deliver 2,100 tons of carbon-negative hydrogen to Boeing.
