Planetary Technologies

The patented Planetary Hydrogen Ocean Air Capture (OAC) technology uses renewable electricity to produce hydrogen via conventional electrolysis of water. We call our process SeaOH₂. Our innovation is that by adding a mineral salt, we force the electrolysis cell to also create an atmosphere-scrubbing compound called mineral hydroxide as a waste product. That hydroxide actively binds with carbon dioxide, producing an “ocean antacid” very similar to baking soda.

The net effect is the direct air capture and storage of CO₂ while producing valuable pure hydrogen. The system can consume as much as 40 kg of CO₂ and permanently stores it for every 1 kg of hydrogen it produces.

This system accelerates “The Earth’s Natural Thermostat” which is the geological process that removes excess CO₂ from the atmosphere via rock weathering that is otherwise very slow and inefficient. Excess CO₂ in the atmosphere acidifies rainwater that on contact with alkaline minerals (exposed on much of the Earth’s land surface), dissolves the rock, and consumes CO₂, forming dissolved mineral bicarbonate which is washed into the ocean. This process is the reason that some 90% of the Earth’s surface carbon is in this form as seawater bicarbonate. While effective as a moderator of excess atmospheric CO₂, it can take 100,000 yrs for the preceding process to naturally return atmospheric CO₂ to “normal” levels.

Unfortunately, we don’t have 100,000 years to avoid the worst consequences of our CO₂ emissions and we’re still emitting massive quantities. That’s why our process is so important and unique. It not only dramatically speeds geologic consumption of CO₂, but by using renewable energy it also avoids the emissions associated with a central and growing component of the world’s energy and fuel system, H₂.

Planetary Hydrogenproduces the greenest hydrogen on Earth which, when combined with biofuels, enables the productionof drop in carbon negative fuels.