The Commercial Case for Direct Air Capture of Carbon Dioxide

This white paper outlines the commercial case for direct air capture (DAC) of carbon dioxide, which will play a critical role in reducing climate change risks this century and mitigating emissions from difficult to decarbonize sectors while also creating new market opportunities. It was developed by the Bipartisan Policy Center’s DAC Advisory Council, which includes leaders from academia, the private sector, labor, and the NGO community. This is the second of a three-part series by the Council that outlines the environmental imperative, the commercial case, and the federal policy case for deploying DAC technologies at scale.

Council members came together because they view DAC as a unique and powerful complement to other approaches for reducing and removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Further, the Council believes that early federal investments are needed to ensure that U.S. companies take the lead in developing and commercializing DAC technologies. Such investments will deliver large dividends in the decades ahead as the world seeks cost-effective solutions to slow warming and bridge the gap to a net-zero economy.

This report focuses on the commercial case for DAC, with a focus on companies currently deploying DAC facilities around the world. Technology costs and cost-reduction pathways, along with near-term and long-term commercialization opportunities for DAC are discussed. This work sets the stage in anticipation of a third, and final, report that outlines the necessary federal policy tools that will be required for deploying DAC at the scale needed to address the climate challenge.