Capturing and storing CO₂ from the air is one of the strategies to reduce greenhouse gases. In its search for innovative solutions to mitigate the climate crisis, LightNET Carbon Capture has collaborated SACYR, a engineering and infrastructure company, in the validation of a material to fix CO₂ on surfaces. The applied technology is based on a patent co-owned by CSIC and ICN2.

The mortar was applied to several façades (one of them in the picture) in a pilot project to assess its ability to sequester CO2.

LightNet Carbon Capture is a spin-off company of CSIC - with the imminent signing of a know-how licence - and ICN2 that focuses its activity on research into materials and solutions for the capture, storage and revalorisation of CO₂. Its products include CO2atings®, mortars for coatings that have been tested in a space provided by SACYR, specifically in temporary structures on a construction site, not belonging to buildings under construction but which perfectly simulate the conditions and the real environment of a construction area.

In this small pilot experiment, it was evaluated the CO2 capture capacity of the mortar in relation to the orientation of the façade. To this end, CO2ating was applied to four different façades (north, south, east and west) and samples of the material were taken periodically over a period of one month. Eugènia Riqué, head of Quality and Environment at SACYR in Catalonia, was in charge of the general management of the current pilot project. The implementation was carried out with the partner Estucs Jobert and was led by Pedro Pastor, project manager of LightNet Carbon Capture and ICN2 scientist, and Amador Pérez, CSO of LightNET and a researcher at the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM) of the CSIC.

The innovative mortar proved to be an alternative to other mortars with significant advantages. Among them, the fact that it is obtained from raw materials abundant in the earth and is compatible with other building materials such as Portland cement, concrete or asphalt.

The material has performed well on all 4 facades, with maximum CO2 capture on the north-facing facade

The mortar has an aesthetic, crack-free finish and withstands rain and moisture, even immediately after application. The mortar performs passive CO2 capture (i.e. it requires no energy source), and does so quickly and efficiently.

Analysis of the samples taken at SACYR's premises led to the conclusion that the material had performed well on all  facades, with maximum capture on the north-facing facade (up to 40% by weight compared to 30% on the other orientations). This area was less exposed to sunlight and heat and therefore more humid. The scientific team hypothesises that this humidity could favour CO₂ capture and will schedule further pilot tests to verify this hypothesis.

LightNet Carbon Capture is expected to continue its collaboration with the CSIC through the researcher and entrepreneur, Amador Pérez, who is associated with the IMB-CNM-CSIC.