UW researchers aim to create business around carbon capture

A team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison have created a way to pull carbon dioxide from the air and store it in solid particles that can be used in building materials, according to a Wisconsin State Journalreport. The Earth RepAIR process, built on concepts from Bu Wang and Rob Anex, is a finalist in the XPRIZE competition for carbon removal. Eligible contestants for the $80 million grand prize must build a working plant that can capture 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year as well as model the costs at a scale of 1 million tons a year. The research team is using a $250,000 award received last fall from the XPRIZE student competition and support from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation to continue refining the technology.