Hot Lime Labs
Producing clean CO2 from biomass to decarbonise greenhouses
Using world-leading carbon capture technology, Hot Lime Labs produces clean and sustainable CO2 from waste wood and other biomass in order to decarbonise greenhouses.
Challenge
High-tech greenhouses in New Zealand cultivate over $250 million value of crops across hundreds of hectares. Globally, this sector generates $250 billion from 80,000 hectares of greenhouses. These facilities depend significantly on natural gas both for heating and generation of CO2, with CO2 supplementation awarding growers a boost in greenhouse production by 30%. While renewable heating options exist, there are currently no viable renewable CO2 sources. It is challenging for greenhouses to decarbonise their operations without sacrificing the productivity boost afforded by CO2 supplementation – making this a very hard-to-abate industry.
Solution
Hot Lime Labs has pioneered a groundbreaking process to extract CO2 and heat from forestry and greenhouse waste, providing a renewable feedstock for greenhouse operations. This technology enables greenhouses to decarbonise while enhancing production levels by supplying a renewable source of CO2, all while utilising waste biomass.
Impact Unlocked
Hot Lime Lab’s first commercial scale system in New Zealand is currently operating close to full capacity, running at about 95% of the time, and has enabled their customer Gourmet Mokai Limited to access renewable CO2 reliably. The next critical phase involves transforming this initial demonstration system into a commercially optimised design for series production. With financial support from Ara Ake, Hot Lime Labs is ready to begin the design for manufacturing phase, with the first systems expected to launch in 2025. This innovative technology enables the decarbonisation of greenhouse operations without the typical 30% production penalty, addressing a major challenge in the industry.
Hot Lime Labs has a bold goal to decarbonise half of the world’s greenhouses, potentially avoiding 120 megatons of CO2 emissions each year. Ara Ake support accelerates the transition from a demonstration prototype to production-scale systems for New Zealand growers, promoting an economically driven decarbonisation solution for this industry.