As the world moves to a more sustainable future and is advancing ways to reduce greenhouse gases and limit the effects of climate change, direct air capture (DAC) is one process being developed and deployed to remove CO2 from the atmosphere along with other efforts to reduce emissions. This industry is still in its infancy but is continuing to gain momentum. In this blog post, we discuss the industry and some of its recent advancements.
What is DAC?
DAC is a process designed to pull CO2 from the atmosphere via an engineered or mechanical system. Two main systems are in place today that use either liquid solvents (L-DAC) or solid sorbents (S-DAC), with both systems requiring heat to release the CO2 once captured. However, new technologies are being developed that use electrochemical processes that may provide more efficiency. One example is an artificial leaf the University of Illinois Chicago is developing that captures CO2 at a rate one hundred times better than current systems.
Technology readiness
When measured by technology readiness level (TRL), carbon capture systems are fairly mature. However, the TRL can vary by type of carbon capture. A recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office indicates a TRL of 7 (out of 9) for direct air capture while post-combustion capture has a TRL of 9. A TRL of 7 is considered mature as the technology is past the research and development phases, has been validated by a pilot study, and is in the full-scale development phase.
There are 18 DAC facilities globally (Exhibit 1), located in Canada, Europe, and the U.S., that collectively can capture just under 8,000 metric tons of CO2 (tCO2) per year. About half of that is permanently stored while the other half is used for various purposes. For perspective, global energy-related CO2 emissions totaled 36.3 billion tonnes in 2021, while traditional carbon capture facilities in operation have a total capacity of 36.3 million tCO2 (MtCO2) per year with another 100+ MtCO2 of capacity being developed. The largest of the DAC facilities is the Orca plant in Iceland, built by Climeworks in 2021. Orca is designed to remove 4,000 tonnes of CO2 annually by dissolving it in water and injecting it underground where chemical reactions will turn it into rock. Additional projects are in development and will be discussed subsequently.
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