In April, the IEA (International Energy Agency) released their latest analysis of the conditions behind the increasing interest in DACCS (Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage), as well as assessments of what is needed for the technology to be adopted. In the short term, DACCS will be able to offset emissions that are more difficult to cut (carbon credits), and in the longer term, it will help remove historic emissions (CDR – Carbon Dioxide Removal). Furthermore, CO2 from the atmosphere may be used in the future to produce materials or for synthetic fuels (DACCU).

DACCS should be scaled up

The IEA believes that to achieve the goal of net zero emissions before 2050, DACCS should be scaled up to 85 million tonnes of CO2 in 2030 and 980 million tonnes in 2050. The cost per tonne of captured carbon could fall to under $100 in 2030 – with sufficient R&D (Research and Development) and scale-up. In comparison, around 8,000 tonnes of CO2 are captured through DAC systems today, while global operational CCS projects have a combined capture and storage capacity of around 40 million tonnes of CO2 per year. For DACCS to be a viable solution, the IEA believes that internationally recognised certifications must be set up for the solution, and that niches willing to pay for DACCS must be exploited.

Significant amount of CDR is needed to achieve goals

The IPCC’s latest report dedicated a lot of space to CDR solutions (including DACCS). The IPCC works on multiple scenarios and as such presents a greater sample space for the use of DACCS than the IEA. This is also an expression of significant uncertainty about how climate goals should be achieved and the relevance of DACCS going forwards. However, overall, the IPCC assumes a significant amount of CDR from now up to 2100 in order for the world to stay within the 2°C goal, in the region of several hundred to over 1,000 gigatonnes removed in the next 80 years. In comparison, current total global greenhouse gas emissions are around 60 gigatonnes of CO2e. The IPCC emphasises the multiple important benefits of DACCS, including scalability, measurable additionality and flexibility around localisation. The challenges of DACCS are primarily linked to its costs and the large amounts of energy required.

USA investing in DACCS

Last year, the United States Congress added their name to the list of new major investors in DACCS by approving USD 3.5 billion for the development DACCS hubs over a five year period. The international collaborative venture “Mission Innovation” has set a goal of 100 million tonnes of stored carbon by 2030 through the use of various CDR technologies, including DACCS.

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