A roadmap for achieving scalable, safe, and low-cost direct air carbon capture and storage

Direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS) involves a set of approaches for capturing CO2 directly from the air and its subsequent long-term storage. DACCS is at an early stage of technical development and currently faces a variety of challenges, including high cost and energy requirements. Building on publicly available data, this paper provides: (i) an overview and classification of DACCS systems, (ii) a harmonization of technical and economic performance of direct air capture technologies, (iii) a comprehensive list of technical- and infrastructure-based obstacles to scaling DACCS systems, and (iv) a roadmap and list of priority initiatives for research, development, demonstration, and deployment of DACCS. Our intent is to drive progress against high-impact priority actions, with a focus on accelerating research, development, and deployment of safe, scalable, and low cost DACCS as a component of the broader carbon dioxide removal portfolio. A roadmap that delineates the major hurdles and essential RD & D actions to enable large-scale DACCS deployment.

Automated summary

Direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS) is a method of capturing CO2 directly from the air and storing it for a long time. Despite being in the early stages of technical development, DACCS faces challenges such as high cost and energy requirements. This paper provides an overview and classification of DACCS systems, harmonizes the technical and economic performance of direct air capture technologies, lists technical and infrastructure-based obstacles to scaling DACCS systems, and provides a roadmap and priority initiatives for research, development, demonstration, and deployment of DACCS.