{
  "id": 28588,
  "title": "Battery-like device sucks carbon dioxide out of thin air",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/07/23/battery-like-device-sucks-carbon-dioxide-out-of-thin-air",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-07-23T12:00:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Anthropocene Magazine",
    "slug": "anthropocene-magazine",
    "url": "https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/07/battery-like-device-sucks-carbon-dioxide-out-of-air/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A battery-like device has been developed to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, according to researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Toyota Research Institute of North America. The technology, based on electricity and saltwater chemistry, promises to be more straightforward, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly compared to existing direct air capture (DAC) methods. Despite the growth of alternative energy sources, carbon emissions from fossil fuels continue unabated, making atmospheric carbon dioxide removal essential for achieving climate goals. Traditional DAC systems utilize large fans to blow air over pricey materials that absorb CO2, which then need to be heated to release the gas for storage or conversion into useful products. The new system eschews heat and sorbent materials, instead employing a battery-like electrochemical cell. The device is constructed by combining potassium-stabilized manganese dioxide electrodes in a saltwater solution. Carbon dioxide capture and release occur through a two-step reversible cycle. In the first step, the device alters the solution's pH to make it alkaline, enabling it to absorb carbon dioxide. When the electrical current is reversed, the alkalinity decreases, releasing the greenhouse gas for storage. Early laboratory results indicate the technology's potential, but researchers face challenges in preventing the mixing of its two liquid streams, which would lower energy consumption and boost capture efficiency.",
  "summary": "Using electricity and seawater chemistry would be more economical and efficient than today’s direct air capture technologies",
  "key_points": [
    "University of Illinois and Toyota Research Institute develop battery-like carbon capture device.",
    "Electrochemical cell uses saltwater chemistry instead of heat and sorbent materials.",
    "Early lab results show potential, but challenges remain in stream mixing."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}