SHREVEPORT, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Direct Air Capture (DAC) provider Heirloom today announced an unprecedented investment in Louisiana that will bring two DAC facilities, with a combined ability to remove nearly 320,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, to the northwestern part of the state. The new facilities will be located at the Port of Caddo-Bossier in Shreveport and will create around 1,000 new construction and permanent clean energy jobs, powering the Gulf Coast's leadership in DAC technologies and advancing American leadership in meeting net-zero goals.
The first facility will begin construction later this year and – once operational starting in 2026 – will remove around 17,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.
The second facility is under design as part of Project Cypress, the Regional DAC Hub in Louisiana managed by the U.S Department of Energy (DOE)'s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), which is eligible for up to $600 million in funding. This expands the footprint and job-creation potential of Project Cypress beyond Southwest Louisiana, where Climeworks is building its Project Cypress facility in Calcasieu Parish.
Heirloom’s decision to locate both facilities in Northwest Louisiana brings cost savings and significant operational efficiencies, in addition to expanding the company's ability to create jobs and build meaningful workforce training programs in the region. Heirloom's portion of Project Cypress will remove approximately 300,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. The first phase of the project, which is expected to be operational in 2027, will be capable of removing 100,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. Subsequent construction phases, subject to additional funding, progress through Hub program reviews, and negotiations, would triple the capture capacity.
Combined, the DAC facilities in Caddo Parish are expected to create at least 1,000 construction jobs and over 80 permanent jobs, with more expected at full build-out. To help support this economic growth, the State of Louisiana is offering a $3 million performance-based grant for site infrastructure improvements. Heirloom may qualify for additional State incentives with a potential value of up to $7.8 million over 10 years if payroll and employment targets are met.
Heirloom, along with Project Cypress partners, will undertake a new community benefits planning process in Northwest Louisiana as part of an overall investment in the Caddo-Bossier region. This includes the formation of a local Community Engagement Council to solicit community input and feedback at every stage of project development.
“Louisiana is well positioned to become America’s leader in safely storing carbon dioxide. Heirloom’s expansion into the Port of Caddo-Bossier means even more growth and more jobs for our State and is another example of how we are leading the race to drive the nation’s energy future,” said Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry. “The expansion of Project Cypress Direct Air Capture Hub across the State represents the best of Louisiana—cutting edge technology at the forefront of the energy economy, powered by innovation and a broad base of highly skilled workers.”
“We couldn’t be more excited to be building these new facilities in Northwest Louisiana,” said Shashank Samala, CEO of Heirloom. “These investments not only bring meaningful economic activity and job creation to the region, but also help to cement Louisiana as a leader in this new energy economy and further America’s leadership on the global stage. Coming shortly after we opened America’s first commercial DAC facility, this expansion in Louisiana continues Heirloom’s strong momentum as we work toward billion-ton scale.”
Heirloom is partnering with CapturePoint, a carbon management company, to store the CO2 captured from these facilities in Class VI underground wells – a safe, durable, and permanent storage solution. The pipeline and storage wells used for Heirloom’s captured CO2 will be dedicated to permanent CO2 storage, consistent with Heirloom’s principles for the responsible deployment of carbon removal. Both Heirloom facilities will be fully powered by additional renewable energy sources.
With these two facilities in Northwest Louisiana, Heirloom is continuing its rapid progress in building one of the world’s most affordable carbon removal solutions with the ability to scale to eliminate billions of tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere. Late last year, Heirloom began operating North America’s first commercial DAC facility in Tracy, California, shortly after signing one of the largest CO2 removal deals to date with Microsoft. The company has also signed deals to provide carbon removal to Stripe, Meta, Shopify, JPMorgan, McKinsey, Workday, H&M, Autodesk, and others. Additionally, Heirloom was recently selected as a finalist for the XPRIZE and a semi-finalist for the DOE’s Carbon Dioxide Purchase Pilot.
Heirloom’s technology enhances the power of limestone – the world’s second most abundant, and one of the cheapest, minerals – to capture CO2 directly from the air. The Heirloom process starts with natural limestone, nearly 50% of which is CO2. By extracting this CO2 from the limestone and adding water, the Heirloom process creates a material that is thirsty for CO2 so it can return to a natural limestone state. This material acts like a sponge, pulling CO2 from the atmosphere. Heirloom’s technology accelerates this process, reducing the time it takes to absorb CO2 in nature from years to just three days. Once the CO2 is absorbed, it is extracted from the limestone material using a renewable energy-powered kiln and stored permanently underground.
Heirloom has begun advertising jobs for its facilities in Louisiana. Job openings will be posted here as they are available.
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"We're excited to welcome Heirloom, the American leader in Direct Air Capture, to the Port of Caddo-Bossier. The Port has a long history of birthing innovative industrial technologies, and we are proud to support the arrival of a new Direct Air Capture footprint in Northwest Louisiana. Direct Air Capture is a rapidly growing technology that the Port is uniquely positioned to bring to scale due to our proximity to carbon management infrastructure and skilled local workforce,” said Bill Altimus, President of Caddo-Bossier Port Commission.
"Shreveport is proud to play host to one of the most promising emerging new energy industries - which will generate significant jobs and investment in our local economy. To see a new industry leader like Heirloom commit to not one but two facilities at the Port of Caddo-Bossier is a win for jobs, economic competitiveness, and innovative opportunities for Shreveport and a milestone for continued growth for our City," said Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux.
"This infusion of public and private capital in a fast-growing sector of the clean energy economy here in Louisiana has the potential to create hundreds of high-paying opportunities for our local workforce. As an organization committed to building pathways to careers that play to Louisiana's strengths, we're looking forward to working with Heirloom to equip Lousianans with skills that will be in high-demand for decades to come," said Rick Bateman, Chairman of the Bossier Parish Community College.
“Heirloom’s investment at the Port of Caddo-Bossier is a tremendous opportunity for our region. It will support our local economy by creating new jobs and position us at the forefront of environmental innovation. This partnership reflects our community’s dedication to fostering sustainable growth and ensuring a prosperous future for Bossier Parish and beyond. We are excited to work alongside Heirloom and witness the positive impacts their innovative technology will bring to our region,” said Bossier Parish Police Jury President, Butch Ford.
“I’m excited about the Caddo-Bossier Port/Heirloom announcement of their project that will bring many quality jobs to our community,” said State Senator Thomas Pressley. “This announcement adds to the significant economic development opportunities that have been announced over the past year throughout Northwest Louisiana. I’m grateful for the work of all of the people, governmental entities, and economic development organizations who helped bring this project to fruition. I look forward to continuing to work with them to advance jobs and opportunities in our region and throughout Louisiana.”
“This is a great opportunity to create jobs at the port of Caddo/Bossier, there will be hundreds of construction jobs, and many permanent jobs. We have worked hard to create an economic environment in northwest Louisiana that is conducive to growth, our delegation is focused on improving infrastructure and supporting the Port and its team, and our local government,” said State Senator Alan Seabaugh.
“Heirloom’s investments represent American innovation at the local level in Caddo-Bossier. These new jobs are the latest testament that Louisiana is where America’s energy future will be built, using the workforce skills and know-how we’ve honed in the State for decades,” said State Representative Michael Melerine.
“The team at CapturePoint is ready to support Heirloom’s expansive plans for Project Cypress, and we are excited to partner in the Northwest Louisiana initiatives that are setting new national standards for carbon management,” noted Tracy Evans, CEO of CapturePoint. “Our Central Louisiana Regional Carbon Storage Hub (CENLA Hub) has the potential to be one of the largest and most secure onshore carbon sequestration sites in the country, providing leading-edge, safe and permanent deep underground storage for the CO2 that Heirloom’s innovative Direct Air Capture technology will pull from the atmosphere. Together our projects create a win-win-win for Louisiana – protecting the environment, expanding jobs and the economy, and defining a new future for the region.”
