Pilot Energy is edging closer to a national first, with Australia’s inaugural direct air capture demonstration facility now fully built and on track to be operational by mid-June at the company’s Cliff Head onshore plant near Dongara.
The milestone marks a major step in Pilot’s remarkable transition from traditional oil and gas into the fast-growing world of carbon management.
The Dongara Direct Air Capture project (DAC), also known as Project Wallaby, is being developed alongside US-based technology group Capture6.
The company says nine containerised modules have already been fabricated and installed at the Cliff Head site, with the balance of the plant expected to land in Western Australia in late March.
What is particularly eye-catching about the project is how the company has repurposed existing infrastructure.
The Cliff Head carbon storage operation is expected to produce a steady stream of saline formation water, historically a costly waste product, that Capture6’s technology flips into an asset.
The technology will instead use the saline brine as a feedstock to both recover freshwater and chemically capture carbon dioxide in a single step.
Unlike traditional direct air capture systems that rely on energy-hungry, multi-stage processes, Capture6’s approach directly mineralises CO2, while simultaneously producing valuable by-products. The system not only reduces disposal costs, it also opens multiple potential revenue streams, including carbon removal credits, drinkable water and green industrial chemicals.
Pilot’s existing onshore plant is capable of partially processing up to 5.5 million litres of saline water per day, providing ideal conditions for the demonstration facility. Power for the plant will come from Pilot’s own gas-fired generation infrastructure, keeping capital costs down and accelerating execution.
The initial demonstration facility is designed to operate for three months, capturing around 300 kilograms of CO2 per day. While modest in scale, the real prize lies beyond the pilot phase. Subject to performance, Capture6 has flagged the potential for a commercial-scale rollout capable of removing up to 35,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, with a longer-term expansion option targeting a massive 350,000 tonnes annually.
Importantly, the direct air capture project does not stand alone. It forms part of Pilot’s broader vision to transform the former Arrowsmith plant into what it now calls the Dongara Energy Centre. Alongside carbon storage and direct air capture, the site is also earmarked for data centre development, taking advantage of the region’s abundant wind and solar resources and its ability to permanently store captured carbon.
The convergence of clean energy, carbon capture and existing industrial infrastructure gives Pilot a rare strategic edge. While many early-stage carbon projects remain conceptual, Dongara is rapidly moving from theory into steel-on-the-ground execution.
With modules built, funding support secured and commissioning just months away, Pilot Energy is positioning itself at the pointy end of Australia’s emerging carbon removal sector, proving that yesterday’s oil and gas assets can become tomorrow’s climate solutions.
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By James Pearson
