Svante Technologies just moved a planned BECCS facility at a paper mill in the southeastern United States into the feasibility study stage. The target: capturing and permanently storing more than 500,000 metric tonnes of biogenic CO₂ every year.
To put that number in context — Climeworks’ entire Mammoth plant in Iceland, the world’s largest operational DAC facility, is designed for 36,000 tonnes per year. This single project would exceed that by more than 13×.
Why Paper Mills Are BECCS Gold
Pulp and paper mills are almost purpose-built for bioenergy with carbon capture. The biomass feedstock is already on-site — wood from sustainably managed forests gets processed into paper, and the resulting flue gas is rich in biogenic CO₂. Capture that, store it permanently, and you’ve got carbon dioxide removal credits without needing to source new biomass.
The project will use Svante’s solid sorbent technology: rotary contactor machines fitted with nanoengineered filters that selectively grab CO₂ from industrial flue gas. It’s a different approach from the liquid solvent and amine-based systems dominating CCS — potentially faster cycling and lower energy penalties.
Storage and Design
Captured CO₂ would be transported to the US Gulf Coast for permanent geological storage, leveraging existing regulatory frameworks for Class VI injection wells. The Gulf Coast’s well-characterized subsurface formations make it one of the most storage-ready regions in the world.
The facility design also includes waste heat and water recovery systems to reduce the additional energy and water demands of the capture process — a critical detail, since energy parasitism is one of the main criticisms of bolt-on carbon capture.
Svante’s BECCS Strategy
This isn’t a one-off. Svante is systematically targeting the pulp and paper sector for BECCS deployment. Just last week, the company acquired Carbon Alpha to develop a BECCS hub in Western Canada with First Nations partnership.
The strategy makes sense. Pulp and paper is one of the few heavy industries where the CO₂ is biogenic by default. In most CCS applications, you’re preventing fossil carbon from reaching the atmosphere — useful, but not removal. In BECCS at a paper mill, you’re taking carbon that trees already pulled from the air and locking it underground permanently. That’s genuine CDR.
What to Watch
The project is still in feasibility — detailed engineering, cost estimates, and risk assessments are ongoing. No construction timeline yet. But 500,000 tonnes per year from a single facility would be one of the largest CDR projects anywhere in the world.
The credits are intended to meet established MRV standards and target organizations offsetting Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. If this project reaches final investment decision, it’ll be a major signal that BECCS in established industrial sectors is commercially viable — not just technically possible.
Sources: Carbon Herald