In the prairies of Alberta, a forest of mechanical ‘trees’ is reaching towards the sky. But these aren’t ordinary trees – they’re cutting-edge machines designed to pull CO2 directly out of the air.

Developed by Canadian company Carbon Engineering, these direct air capture (DAC) plants use giant fans to draw air through a chemical solution that captures CO2. The process is like photosynthesis in overdrive, with each unit capable of removing up to one ton of CO2 per day.

But what happens to all that captured carbon? That’s where things get really interesting. Carbon Engineering has developed processes to turn the captured CO2 into ultra-low carbon fuels, or to permanently store it underground.

The company is now working on building its first large-scale commercial plant, which aims to capture up to 1 million tons of CO2 annually – equivalent to the work of 40 million trees. While not a silver bullet for climate change, this technology offers a promising tool in our fight against rising CO2 levels.

As Canada pushes towards its net-zero emissions goal, these artificial trees could play a crucial role in balancing out hard-to-abate emissions from industries like aviation and heavy manufacturing. It’s a homegrown solution that’s capturing global attention in the race to combat climate change.