Aircapture and 44.01 are bringing a direct air capture + mineralization project in Oman: 44.01 — an Omani developer of carbon mineralization tech — and Aircapture, a direct air capture (DAC) company, are working on a DAC and mineralization project in Oman, reports Oman Daily Observer.

In detail: The companies will break ground on the project in Oman’s Hajar mountains in late 2024, using and upscaling the use of peridotite mineralization in reducing atmospheric CO2 levels. The project will have the capacity of delivering 500 tons of liquid CO2 annually with plans to increase the capacity later on.

About 44.01: The awardwinning carbon removal startup started its operations in carbon capture and storage in Oman in August last year and has been expanding its presence in the region. It collaborated with Adnoc and Fujairah on the USD 15 bn carbon capture and mineralization project in Fujairah in January this year. 44.01 is also collaborating with carbon capture specialist Climatework to study the deployment of DAC with storage in peridotite formations in Oman.

Oman is jumping on its potential for large-scale deployment of DAC and sequestration technologies. The Sultanate gained attention for its potential to host large-scale carbon capture projects, according to an International Energy Agency’s (IEA) report (pdf) in June. “Oman could be well suited for the deployment of DAC technologies. This is because of its abundant solar resources to power the DAC plants and availability of water resources and peridotite formations – both needed for CO₂ mineralization with the goal of carbon removal,” the report read.

Carbon capture is blooming in the region: Carbon capture and storage investments have been gaining traction regionally. Energean, a UK hydrocarbon exploration and production company, also signed an MoU with Shell Egypt to study a proposed carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Egypt in February. Aramco and Ma’aden also agreed to build sizable CCU facilities last November. OQ also signed an agreement last month with the Oman India Fertiliser Company (Omifco) to explore including carbon capture tech at its Sur ammonia-urea fertilizer production plant.