How a new process could help decarbonize the desalination industry

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🗞️ Driving the news: CarbonBlue has begun testing carbon removal technology at a desalination plant in Ma’agan Michael, Israel — a pioneering step toward integrating carbon dioxide removal (CDR) with water treatment
• The company joins several other startups, including Captura, Ebb Carbon, and Capture6, in developing approaches that aim to simultaneously reduce emissions and meet the world’s rising demand for clean water
• If scaled globally, such systems could remove hundreds of millions of tons of CO₂ annually

🔭 The context: Desalination is growing rapidly, with global capacity expanding at nearly 10% per year due to water scarcity
• However, the process is energy-intensive and generates carbon emissions and brine waste. Several CDR startups are now embedding capture technologies directly into water treatment systems to address these environmental concerns
• CarbonBlue’s system uses lime in a reactor to capture CO₂, while competitors employ electrochemical and solvent-based techniques
• Carbon credits are a key financial mechanism for many of these firms

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The desalination sector could emit over 400 million metric tons of CO₂ this year alone. Integrated CDR offers a dual benefit — supporting water security while drawing down atmospheric carbon
• But key challenges remain, including the carbon footprint of lime production, high energy demands, and the need for abundant renewable power
• The technologies are promising, but their net benefit depends on overcoming these material and systemic barriers

⏭️ What's next: CarbonBlue aims to install a lower-emission lime production facility by 2026 to improve the lifecycle carbon performance of its process
• Competitors like Captura and Ebb Carbon continue to secure long-term carbon credit deals, including contracts with Microsoft and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines
• Wider adoption will hinge on regulatory support, cheaper renewables, and verified carbon accounting
• Progress over the next two to three years will determine whether desalination-integrated CDR becomes a scalable climate solution

💬 One quote: “Our approach is to provide industry with tools to decarbonize, not only without harming the value chain, but actually to make it more profitable.” – Adam Etzion, Director of Marketing, CarbonBlue

📈 One stat: Desalination-integrated carbon removal technologies consume 1.9 to 2.8 MWh of electricity per ton of CO₂ removed — equal to the energy used by an average American household over 2–3 months

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