Designed to be both beneficial for the environment and profitable for business, Skyonic Corp. opened Capitol SkyMine, a commercial-scale carbon capture and utilization facility, on Oct. 21. Located at Capitol Aggregates’ San Antonio cement plant, the $125 million Capitol SkyMine will have a total carbon impact of 300,000 tons annually through the direct capture of 75,000 tons of CO2 and transformation into solid, usable products, like baking soda, bleach and hydrochloric acid.
Using Skyonic’s SkyMine technology, Capitol SkyMine is expected to generate approximately $48 million in revenue and $28 million in annual earnings – all from greenhouse gas emissions that previously would have been released into the atmosphere.
“The Capitol SkyMine facility is the first step in our vision to mitigate the effects of industrial pollution and close the carbon cycle,” said Joe Jones, founder and CEO of Skyonic. “We are excited to mark this historic milestone with our innovative SkyMine technology to capture pollutants and transform them into everyday products.”
The SkyMine process allows owners of industrial facilities or fossil-fuel-fired power plants to capture up to 90 percent of CO2 emissions from flue gas and transform them into solid products that can then be sold for a profit. The creation of these carbon-negative products will offset CO2 emissions by displacing products that are normally made through carbon-intensive practices, according to the company.
The introduction of this innovative technology could transform the carbon capture industry, noted the company. Previously, captured carbon has been sequestered and injected into the ground. Now, using SkyMine technology, stationary emitters can convert greenhouse gasses into common industrial products.
“SkyMine is more than a green technology – it’s a smart business decision that makes money,” said Jones. “Our business partners can use this technology to meet emissions requirements, replace costly scrubbing technologies and increase revenues. Skyonic is proud to partner with Capitol Aggregates to launch Capitol SkyMine, which will transform greenhouse gases into profits and change the way we all look at emissions.”
