American startup sucks CO2 from the air to make diamonds

A startup is sucking CO2 from the sky and creating diamonds. The jewels will now help us fight climate change.

A startup is sucking CO2 from the sky and creating diamonds.

When we think of diamonds, there are several images that come to mind; rich people wear them or miners work hard to extract 'blood diamonds'. Sadly, diamond mining is an industry that raises concerns about human rights even with the Kimberly Process (an international collaborative process between many countries, organizations and the diamond industry to certify that diamonds sold on the market are of clean origin, not from areas of conflict and bloodstains) Africans).

But now, Aether Diamonds, a startup founded in 2018, based in New York City (USA) has become the first manufacturer to use atmospheric carbon to create sustainable diamonds. .

"Standard" diamond?

According to Aether, each carat of diamond sold is equivalent to 20 tons of CO2 taken from the atmosphere, using a combination of direct air capture (DAC) and other associated carbon removal methods. regarding long-term carbon sequestration. The CO2 extraction capacity for one carat of diamond could offset the average American's carbon footprint in 1.25 years.

DAC is a process that captures carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the air and produces a concentrated stream of CO2 for use in wind and carbon neutral fuel production.

This production method can help fight climate change by removing carbon from the air and also help the industry itself by preventing human rights abuses in diamond mining.

Artificial diamonds from the air also indirectly limit the "blood diamond" problem.

Direct air collection has been part of Aether Diamonds' mission from the very beginning. Founders Shearman and Wojno founded the company after learning about direct air capture in 2018. They worked hard to figure out how to make diamonds using carbon from the air.

Last year, Aether Diamonds produced hundreds of carats of diamonds and began delivering the first diamonds to customers in mid-2021. Currently, the company plans to produce thousands of carats in 2022.

Aether Diamonds is now able to add certified B Corp status to its trademark.

To obtain the B Corp Certification, a company must demonstrate high environmental and social performance, fulfill its legal commitment by changing its corporate governance structure to ensure accountability and accountability. show transparency. But it is not easy to obtain this certificate. Of the more than 100,000 companies that have applied for certification in the past decade, only about 4,000 have achieved it.

Each carat of diamonds sold is equivalent to 20 tons of CO2 taken from the atmosphere.

How are diamonds made from CO2 gas?

Aether Diamonds begins the diamond production process by purchasing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the Climeworks facility, a leading direct gas capture company based in Switzerland, and shipping it to the US. Aether feeds purchased CO2 into a proprietary process, converting it into high purity methane (methane, CH4). The methane is then injected directly into diamond reactors, where chemical vapor deposition is used to produce the rough diamond material in a matter of weeks.

The chemical vapor deposition process heats the gas to very high temperatures under near-vacuum conditions, consuming a lot of energy. But as the company aims to tackle climate change, Aether's chemical vapor deposition and other manufacturing processes only use energy from zero-carbon sources like solar and nuclear power. core.

The finished diamonds are shipped to Surat, India, for cutting and polishing, and then sent back to the New York City diamond district for sale.