Niklas Friederichsen

Direct Air Capture: From Pilot to Autonomous Industrial Scale

Greenlyte is transferring a direct air capture technology, originally validated in the lab, into real-world, scalable systems—from a 50 t CO₂/year pilot plant in Duisburg to a 1,500 t/year first-of-a-kind facility in Marl. The key challenge lies less in the core idea and more in its industrial implementation: fluctuating availability of renewable energy, varying environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity, and the combination of classical process engineering (absorption) with electrochemistry (desorption) require highly dynamic and robust process control. In addition, practical aspects such as reliable sensor performance under real-world conditions—e.g. foam formation or changing media properties—play a crucial role. From a technical perspective, Greenlyte relies on end-to-end digitalization from an early stage: sensors are connected via IO-Link, while parameterization and data access are handled remotely via ifm moneo. Centralized data management, reuse of parameter sets, and structured FAT/SAT testing enable rapid iteration and scaling. This is complemented by revision-based plant engineering, where changes are often implemented via configuration rather than code rollouts. The use case demonstrates how standardized field connectivity, remote service, and data-driven optimization help stabilize prototypes more quickly, accelerate commissioning, and lay the foundation for scalable plant fleets and efficient maintenance strategies.