Research & Clinical Trials
Banyu Carbon Ships Sunlight-Powered Direct Air Capture Prototype to CSIRO's Perth Lab
By News Desk ·
Key takeaways
- Banyu Carbon shipped a fridge-sized direct air capture unit to CSIRO's In-Situ Laboratory in Perth for a month-long trial.
- The unit uses photoacid dyes that release captured CO2 when sunlight turns the solution acidic, avoiding the heat conventional capture systems need.
- Banyu's demo unit is 10 to 20 times larger than anything the company has run before, and CEO Alex Gagnon puts it at Technology Readiness Level 3 to 4.
Banyu Carbon shipped a fridge-sized direct air capture prototype to CSIRO's In-Situ Laboratory in Perth in September, and a small team arrived in early October to set up a month-long trial timed to the 18th Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies Conference, which opens in Perth on 25-29 October. Mirage News reported the shipment.
Banyu's Photoacid Unit at the In-Situ Laboratory
The unit runs on photoacid chemistry that began at CSIRO's Newcastle Energy Centre in 2013, where researcher Dr Robert Bennett showed that light-sensitive compounds called photoacids could pull carbon dioxide out of a capture solution without the heat conventional capture systems require. CSIRO filed a patent in 2014 and worked the concept to 2016. "We developed it to the point of proving the principle and the feasibility at lab scale and then moved on to other work that had priority," said CSIRO Senior Principal Research Scientist Dr Graeme Puxty.
Banyu approached CSIRO for an exclusive licence in late 2024. Co-founder and CEO Dr Alex Gagnon said early photoacids, essentially dyes, were too experimental for commercial use, so his nine-person University of Washington spin-out spent three years refining the chemistry. In Banyu's system, air passes up through a packed column gas-liquid contactor while a water-based solution containing the dye trickles down; in the dark the dye absorbs CO2, and sunlight in clear panels turns the dye acidic and releases a gaseous CO2 stream.
Dr Ludovic Ricard, who leads the ISL project, said the idea for the demonstration came in discussions with Banyu a few months ago. The container has been fitted with the necessary services. "It's a great opportunity for CSIRO to collaborate with a startup company and deploy a prototype unit in Australia," said CSIRO Business Development Manager Chanti Richardson. The demo unit will vent the CO2 it captures during the test. Dr Gagnon said the unit is 10 to 20 times larger than anything Banyu has run before and puts the company at Technology Readiness Level 3 to 4, with hopes the trial lifts that by one or two levels.
CSIRO's Recent Research Run
CSIRO released a report on low-emissions agriculture on October 14, 2026, assessing over 80 technologies across six sectors and identifying investment priorities for 2030-2035 and beyond, Mirage News reported. On October 16, 2026, the Carbon Herald reported that CSIRO scientists are testing CO2 mineralization in Australian ultramafic rocks, finding mineralogy and temperature are key factors, with work aimed at an industry blueprint for commercial projects within five years. CSIRO opened its Powder Lab at its Clayton site in Melbourne on September 15, 2026, to design, test and refine advanced powders for metal 3D printing, Mirage News reported.
What Comes After the Perth Trial
Dr Ricard said talks about injection to "demonstrate end-to-end a full value chain" are already underway, and that the ISL is actively looking for other DAC trials. Richardson said the ISL is linked to an operational well where captured carbon dioxide could in the future be coupled with storage and measuring and monitoring verification on site.