By David Monaghan 
Ray Naughton is Managing Director and co-founder of Waterford-based NEG8 Carbon, a leader in direct air capture (DAC) technology. The Irish start-up is pioneering solutions to reverse climate change by removing carbon from the atmosphere.
The captured CO2 can then be permanently stored underground via storage partners or turned into climate-neutral carbon products, such as sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs).
Interview by: David Monaghan
This article was originally published in Business & Finance magazine vol. 60, annual review 2024. To read the latest issue, click here.
David Monaghan (DM): Can you tell me a bit about your business and its aims?
Ray Naughton (RN): The NEG8 Carbon team is on a mission to make Direct Air Capture technology an affordable, energy-efficient and scalable tool in carbon dioxide removal to fight against the devastating effects of global warming and climate change.
The company was formed in 2014, a spin-out from pioneering research conducted at Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin. Having built Ireland’s first working Direct Air Capture (DAC) prototype in 2023, NEG8 Carbon has emerged as a leader in carbon dioxide removal technology.
Direct Air Capture technology works by drawing in large quantities of air and passing it over specifically designed sorbent materials that attract and capture carbon dioxide (CO₂) molecules. The captured CO₂ can then be permanently and safely stored underground or converted into climate-neutral carbon products, such as sustainable aviation fuel, contributing to a cleaner, greener future.
Focusing on efficiency and scalability, NEG8 Carbon is gearing up for a pilot project at Deep Sky Labs in Alberta, Canada. Chosen among global leaders in DAC technology to test a large-scale pilot system throughout 2025.
By 2035, NEG8 Carbon aims to deploy 1,000 modular DAC systems, capturing 4.2 million tonnes of CO2 annually, with the goal of mitigating 100 million tonnes of CO2, almost double the annual emissions in Ireland*, every year by 2050.
DM: What inspired your journey?
RN: The pressing issue of the 21st century is undeniably climate change, largely driven by rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. The need is clear. We must drastically reduce emissions and remove existing CO2 from the atmosphere.
At this point in history, all indications point to an unrelenting climate crisis that will inevitably get worse if drastic and urgent interventions are not taken by governments, industry and individuals. The surface temperature of Earth has already tipped over 1.5°C above pre-industrialisation levels, a key alarm indicator set by the Paris Agreement in 2015.
By switching to renewable energy and cutting down on carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, we can help prevent excess CO₂ from entering the atmosphere. However, that is not enough.
We sit with an historic legacy of CO₂ that has built up from 280 parts per million (ppm) in pre-industrial times to 420ppm at present. This increase is the root cause of the global warming crisis we now face.
We need to actively remove the residual CO₂ that has already been emitted and the technology to do so exists – technology such as Direct Air Capture (DAC), which is what NEG8 Carbon has been developing and perfecting.
DM: Why is ESG an important benchmark for businesses?
RN: Ordinary citizens, governments and industry have a massive role to play in action on climate change. The key lies in targeting heavy carbon-emitting industries through benchmarking, legislation and fines. However, governments need to ensure that their industries remain competitive.
DM: What advancements in the realm of ESG do you hope to push?
RN: NEG8 Carbon’s development focus is on making Direct Air Capture affordable and efficient to reduce the legacy Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere.
The technology is aimed at DAC project developers who will build large DAC parks to enable companies and governments to offset their hard to abate carbon emissions, while also capturing the CO2 that has been building up in our atmosphere since the dawn of industrialisation (800 billion tonnes of excess CO2).
NEG8 Carbon’s focus is on driving down costs, targeting below €100 per tonne of carbon dioxide by 2035 and under €80 by 2050. DAC can only be scaled up sufficiently if it is affordable.
Following recent technology upgrades, the energy efficiency and process speed of our DAC system enable a substantial reduction in operational costs, which we believe is the key to global adoption of carbon capture technology.
We have partnered with Walton Institute on a two-year AI project that uses machine learning to monitor and optimise the carbon capture system.
Further innovations in our technology this year had reduced the amount of sorbent material needed by 80%, speeding up CO2 capture and release by 90%, and improving CO2 uptake by 50%. These advances also cut energy consumption by over 20%, making the NEG8 Carbon technology faster, more efficient, and more cost-effective.
DAC parks can be located anywhere and can run on renewable energy and link in with CO2 sequestration (storage) sites. Additionally, the system is designed to produce pure water during the process, enhancing the sustainability of our operations (1-2.5 tonnes of water per tonne of CO2).
DM: What can companies do differently to become more ESG compliant?
RN: Companies aiming for net-zero, especially in hard to abate sectors like aviation, shipping and heavy industry, can invest in carbon reduction and help to reverse legacy damage caused by decades of harmful emissions.
Governments set targets and caps on the amount of greenhouse gases companies are allowed to emit. If they exceed these, they are obligated to buy carbon credits.
As industries and governments face growing regulatory and societal pressures to curb emissions, a cost-effective DAC solution like NEG8 Carbon’s is a viable alternative solution to the growing climate crisis.
Direct Air Capture (DAC) offers a precise method for reducing carbon emissions by directly targeting atmospheric CO2, making it effective for capturing emissions from sources like transportation, aviation, and agriculture.
One company leading the way on voluntary carbon credit purchases is Microsoft, aiming to become carbon negative and remove all the carbon it has emitted since 1975 when it was founded. It has committed to eight million tonnes of carbon dioxide removal is commendable.
We would encourage companies that are serious about becoming more ESG compliant to consider taking Microsoft’s lead, and invest in carbon capture technology.
DM: How are you managing your obligations under CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive)?
RN: We welcome the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive). Once companies start measuring and publishing their emissions data it will become very clear that they must take steps to address it. This is where companies like, NEG8 Carbon, on the cutting edge of climate change solutions can step in and help.
This article was originally published in Business & Finance magazine vol. 60, annual review 2024. To read the latest issue, click here.
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