“Mechanical trees” developed by researchers at Arizona State University and brought to market by a Dublin-based company will be erected in parts of the U.S. to capture carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere, thereby removing the gas thought largely responsible for climate change.

Dubbed “mechanical trees” for their resemblance to actual trees in both stature and carbon-capturing ability, Silicon Kingdom Holdings (SKH) intends to erect 1,200 of the slender metal columns — enough to capture roughly 8,000 cars’ worth of CO₂ emissions each year — in the U.S. within a year. The company’s objective is to capture CO₂ using the filter-like components installed in the mechanical trees for less than the cost of other carbon-capturing measures. Reliant on wind to force air through its system rather than energy-intensive mechanisms, the mechanical trees capture the CO₂. Once extracted the CO₂ can either be sequestered or sold for commercial use.

Although it is unclear where the mechanical trees will be erected, some experts suggest that the pilot program could be the world’s largest “direct air capture” operation to date.

Similarly, SKH would not reveal how much building the pilot would cost, explaining instead that it was “in discussions with a range of potential funders and strategic partners from the aviation, energy and food and beverage industries.”