--- title: "Bizarre Device Sucks CO2 From Atmosphere and Turns It Back Into Fuel" description: "A startup called SpiralWave has created a device that uses plasma pulls to turn atmospheric CO2 into green methanol." date: "2024-11-02" modified: "2024-11-02" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/bizarre-device-co2-into-fuel" categories: - "Climate Change" - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "Carbon Capture" - "climate change" - "the digest" --- # Bizarre Device Sucks CO2 From Atmosphere and Turns It Back Into Fuel ![A startup called SpiralWave has created a device that uses plasma pulls to turn atmospheric CO2 into green methanol.]() *\Image: SpiralWave\* ## Zzzzap! Can [weird doodads]() solve the climate crisis? We don't know. But one of the most head-turning examples of climate tech we've seen so far comes from a startup called SpiralWave: a tall, translucent column that lights up with spooky-looking orbs of plasma. Highlighted [by *TechCrunch*]() after being presented at its TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 event, it definitely ticks all the boxes in the Downright Strange department. But it's supposed to serve a very practical purpose. As the plasma spirals its way up the column, it yanks carbon dioxide out of the air. In the process, it converts the gas into green methanol, a fuel source that can be made renewably and which produces 95 percent fewer carbon emissions, its [proponents claim](). "You can see the plasma here in very quick pulses," CEO and cofounder Abed Bukhari told *TechCrunch*. "With every pulse, it breaks down CO2." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_GpDAp8I9g&t=163s ## Keeping Cool Bukhari said he came up with the idea when working at his previous startup, where he had to use what's known as cold plasma, a cooler form of plasma commonly used in fluorescent lights, to build his own equipment. "I needed to build something that can stall the biggest challenge we have on Earth these days, which is removing a huge quantity of CO2," Bukhari told *TechCrunch*. With SpiralWave, he built two prototypes: a smaller Nanobeam, and an over six feet tall Microbeam, which is the one seen in the footage. The way they work is pretty ingenious: the plasma waves are actually the result of three separate pulses of microwaves at different frequencies, which break apart specific molecular bonds, according to *TechCrunch*. "The first one breaks down CO2 into CO, the second one breaks down H2O into H and OH, and the third one is to join them into methanol," Bukhari said. The process transforms about 75 percent of the electrical energy used by the device into methanol when targeting CO2, and 90 percent for flue gas, or gas that's exhausted from pipes and smokestacks, a chief example being power plant emissions produced by burning fossil fuels. ## Bigger Is Better Right now, the devices can create a metric ton of methanol from CO2 pulled from ambient air using about 10,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. But with higher concentrations of the greenhouse gas, they can achieve that yield with as little as 7,000 kWh. That's no inconsequential amount of energy — but bear in mind that CO2 is being removed in the process, while creating a renewable fuel, and that the system can be powered by off-peak renewable electricity. Of course, how effective this will be in aggregate remains to be seen. But Bukhari is dreaming big: his goal is to create a colossal, over-300-foot version of the device that could extract about a gigaton of CO2 per year. "To fight climate change, we need to remove 10 gigatons of CO2 per year," Bukhari told *TechCrunch*. **More on climate change:** [*Scientists Propose Shooting $200 Trillion Worth of Pulverized Diamonds Into Atmosphere*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()