Southern Nevada will be home to the first commercial facility of Clairity Technology, a Los Angeles-based company that conducts carbon dioxide removal.
The facility will not only isolate and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere but also generate over 1,000 liters of water per day, meaning it will generate potable water for local communities, the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance said in a new release announcing the company’s move into the area.
Clairity was established by CEO and founder Glen Meyerowitz to address what he describes as a critical climate challenge.
Carbon dioxide removal involves capturing CO2 from the atmosphere and permanently storing it to help combat climate change. Companies like Clairity accomplish this through a two-step process starting with “direct air capture,” when fans draw in ambient air, which then passes through non-hazardous chemical sorbents that capture and concentrate the CO2.
That is followed by mineralization, when the captured CO2 undergoes a conversion process that transforms it into inert rock material, effectively locking it away for over 1,000 years.
This approach essentially reverses CO2 emissions by pulling the greenhouse gas directly from the air and ensuring it can’t return to the atmosphere.
“So, essentially, the problem is there’s too much CO2 in the atmosphere,” Meyerowitz said, which causes the heat waves and droughts that have become the trademark of climate change.
The most important response is to reduce new greenhouse gas emissions—moving to electrification, renewable sources of energy and so on, Meyerowitz said. But even with rapid decarbonization, he emphasized, there’s still too much legacy emissions of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Collectively as a species, humans have emitted over 2 trillion tons of CO2 and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere since the industrial revolution and continue to emit about 40 billion tons of CO2 every year, Meyerowitz said. According to NASA, human activities have raised the atmosphere’s CO2 content by 50% in less than 200 years.
Clairity was approved for state tax incentives by the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) in October, officials said.
The water-generation portion of Clairity’s process is particularly beneficial for a location like Nevada, said Meyerowitz, adding that the company has already been in talks with the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
“Nevada, it’s a really great spot for us,” he said, pointing to the state’s efforts to bring in new companies and diversify its workforce, strong research institutions like UNLV and those in nearby Phoenix and access to clean forms of power.
“Another thing is our technology actually performs best in dry climates,” he added. “So that was certainly something that was an important factor for us from the beginning, as well.”
When companies like Clairity relocate to Southern Nevada, said Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance interim CEO Betsy Fretwell, it validates the region’s competitiveness as a center for climate solutions. She pointed to the area’s preexisting renown for water conservation in a very arid climate as an example.
“It shows other companies that they can come here and they can find a location and build their business, hire qualified people and really advance their business objectives here,” she said.
Becoming a hub for the climate innovation sector and building resilient, future-focused businesses that strengthen Las Vegas’ economy are key, Fretwell said. And Clairity works alongside other target industries of the LVGEA like health care, biotech, information technology and more.
Clairity brings $2.5 million in capital investment and more than a dozen high-quality science and engineering jobs that pay over $71,000 a year, Fretwell said. Chemists, material scientists and manufacturing engineers are good jobs to have in the community, she added.
This story originally appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.
