Over the past 11 months, UT alumnus Coleman White and his team at Texas-based startup Verified Carbon worked to develop the world’s first 100% wind-powered direct air capture facility, which would help combat climate change by removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. White, who founded Verified Carbon in December 2023 while pursuing his MBA at UT, hopes the company will chart a path forward for the direct air capture industry.

“Direct air capture is the most permanent and measurable solution for carbon (emissions),” White said. “What I’m excited for is to … be able to implement these facilities not only in Texas, not only in the United States., but globally … I think Verified Carbon is on the forefront of that.”

On Thursday, Verified Carbon announced “Project Concho,” a direct air capture facility to be built in partnership with companies Return Carbon, Greenalia and Skytree. According to the press release, ‘Project Concho’ will aim to capture and remove 50,000 tons of CO2 per year by 2030 and 500,000 per year in the long-term.

Sara Rayon Cardenas, a chemical engineering senior and the Texas Innovation Fellow paired with Verified Carbon, said direct air capture facilities capture carbon from the air, process it and utilize it.

“Direct air capture is basically a human-made, huge tree,” Rayon Cardenas said. “You can either sequester (the carbon) in rock formations or you can utilize it … If it’s very pure, you can inject it into sodas or you can create carbon neutral cement.”

White said Greenalia, a wind and solar energy company in Spain, will be building wind turbines on the property to power the facility with 100% renewable energy.

“It’s defining how carbon should be removed,” White said. “In my opinion, it’s pretty counterintuitive to remove carbon using fossil fuels. When you forge these relationships, it’s paving the way for other developers to see that this is a model but also for other wind and solar companies to see that this is a viable business.”

White, who comes from a ranching family, said the initial facility will be built on his land in West Texas. In order to expand, White hopes to partner with landowners in the surrounding areas.

“West Texas is a very tight knit community, so approaching other landowners as a landowner has been instrumental,” White said.

Tommy McGuire, who met White while they were both undergraduates at UT, Currently serves as the co-founder and chief business officer of Verified Carbon. He said there is not only a need to reduce carbon emissions, but to remove carbon that has been and will continue to be emitted. 

“I’m living in Houston and the vibe over here is, ‘Oil and gas isn’t going anywhere anytime soon,’ (but we) might reduce it,” McGuire said. “I hope (for) the best outcome for society and humankind as a whole, but I think (direct air capture) offers a solution for industries that have hard-to-abate emissions.”

White completed both undergraduate and graduate studies at UT. He said he strived to use every resource available at UT, including the Launchpad, the Texas Innovation Center and the UT faculty — particularly Tip Meckel, Ph.D., who serves as the senior scientific advisor for Verified Carbon.

“I used UT as an incubator and as a launchpad because it is the greatest resource of all time,” White said. “You have world-class professors (and) a world-class institution helping you with your startup.”