Spiritus Files Permit Application for Wyoming DAC Project

Climate tech company Spiritus said its sequestration partner Casper Carbon Capture has filed an application with Wyoming authorities seeking permission to drill a Class VI well for its Orchard One direct air capture (DAC) project.

Targeting first phase startup by 2026, Spiritus on Aug. 8 said the direct air capture project is designed to remove 2 million tonnes of CO₂ annually from the atmosphere using passive sorbent technology.

If plans are fulfilled, the facility would be one of the largest DAC facilities in the world.

The project, which will be located in Natrona County, Wyoming, aims to inject up to 6 million metric tons of CO₂ over a 15-year period into a deep saline aquifer. The first injection will sequester CO₂ at an initial rate of 50,000 metric tons per year before ramping up to 750,000 metric tons per year, Spiritus said in a news release.

“We’ve already secured purchase agreements with climate action groups Frontier, Watershed and Terraset. Our recent memorandum of understanding with Saudi Aramco opens the potential for further commercial scaling,” said James Burbridge, director of business development at Spiritus. “These partnerships demonstrate the growing demand for high-quality, verifiable carbon removal solutions.”

Wyoming is one of only three states—the other two being Louisiana and North Dakota—that has been granted primacy for Class VI wells by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Having primacy gives states authority to implement EPA approved underground injection control programs. For Class VI well permitting applicants, it could mean less time spent waiting for approvals.

Spiritus submitted its application to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality.

Capturing CO₂ directly from the atmosphere is among the ways some companies are taking to lower greenhouse gas emissions and slow global warming. However, the technology is the most expensive way to capture carbon due in part to the high amounts of energy needed to capture CO₂ that is more dilute in the atmosphere, according to the International Energy Agency.

Spiritus said its passive sorbent technology aims to reduce DAC costs to below $100 per ton, compared to industry rates ranging from $600 to $1,000 per ton.