UAE Starts Sucking Carbon From Air to Convert It Into Rock

  • Adnoc’s direct-air capture project to pump carbon into hills
  • Critics say carbon capture tech may not be a climate solution
The Adnoc CO2 mineralization plant in Fujairah.Photographer: Anthony Di Paola/Bloomberg

The United Arab Emirates kicked off a project to suck carbon directly from the air and convert it into rock to permanently trap the climate-changing pollutant.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.’s pilot project will mix the carbon with seawater and inject it into the Hajar Mountains, Chief Technology Officer Sophie Hildebrand said on a recent visit to the site in the emirate of Fujairah. The solution will begin to turn into rock in the crevasses and nooks over a period of weeks, she said.