Elon Musk donated $ 100 million to a competition to fight climate change. This is behind the XPRIZE Carbon Removal.
Austin (USA) – Ob Tesla, SpaceX or the Hyperloop – Elon Musk (49) regularly manages to inspire people with his ideas. Now he has advertised a high prize money for ideas that lead to the Climate change should fight.
–
Elon Musk (49) donates $ 100 million to fight climate change. © Britta Pedersen / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa-pool / dpa
The richest person in the world is providing the X-Prize Foundation with 100 million dollars (about 82.5 million euros). The money is to be used to finance a competition. The aim is to find a simple way of how carbon dioxide (CO2) can be captured and stored from the atmosphere or the oceans.
The announcement states that leading scientists agree that from 2030 6 gigatons of CO2 per year will have to be removed from the cycle.
From 2050 the amount will increase to 10 gigatons per year. This is necessary to avoid the worst effects of climate change and to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement.
The temperature rise should be limited to no more than 1.5 degrees. Musk believes that reducing emissions will not be enough. Rather, the CO2 concentration must decrease.
Therefore, he relies on technical solutions to the problem. But the previous methods are too expensive and energy-intensive. In addition, the question of CO2 storage is unclear.
–
Previous attempts to capture and store CO2 in power plants, such as here in Brandenburg, have brought sobering results. (Archive image) © Patrick Pleul / dpa
The billionaire wants to change that, after all, he revolutionized the automotive industry with the electric car manufacturer Tesla and did the same in the space industry with SpaceX. Now the 49-year-old is taking on the planet. Genius or megalomania?
Of the “XPRIZE Carbon Removal“starts on Earth Day, April 22nd. Then further information and the conditions of the competition will be presented. After four years, the winner should be determined.
Participants must show a working prototype by 2025 that can capture at least 1 ton of CO2 per day. In addition, the solution must be able to be quickly scaled up economically to quantities in the gigaton range.
Ultimately, it is the costs per ton that count. Finally, the CO2 must be safely stored for at least 100 years.
The $ 100 million prize pool will be split. The first place winner gets $ 50 million (41.3 million euros), the second $ 20 million (16.5 million euros) and the third $ 10 million (8.3 million euros). The remaining money will be given to the 15 best teams 18 months after the start, as well as 25 scholarships for students.
Anyone can take part as soon as registration starts. So think about how you can save the earth.
–
