Not enough carbon dioxide (CO2) can be captured through direct air capture (DAC) to fulfil industry needs.
That is according to Luke Lana of US-based TOMCO Systems, who spoke at gasworld’s European CO2 Summit 2024 held in Austria earlier this week.
“We have to start wrapping our heads around understanding that DAC is not going to be that reliable source of CO2 for industry,” he said. “There is not enough CO2 to be captured to accomplish the goal.”
Lana believes that – given the quantities involved – DAC cannot scale to meet the need fast enough.
The technology has also been favoured by some as a tool to help meet global temperature targets.
The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates the need at approximately ten gigatonnes of net CO2 removal per year by the year 2050 in order to keep global temperature rise under 1.5 or 2C.
However, DAC has been criticised for its low technology readiness levels and the need for significant investments in unproven technology.
“Even the EU is coming out and saying these technologies are just getting started. We’re doing one tonne per day pilot plants and we’re going to ramp up to the point where we can handle that jump?”
“To think that in ten years, we’re going to be able to use direct air captured CO2 as a reliable source of supply? I don’t believe it,” he said.
Lana added that the incentive to use DAC to pull useful quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere does not yet exist and that it is centred around sequestration rather than utilisation.
“If I’m a CO2 supplier and we’re talking about new sources and I’m getting creative, I’m not relying on DAC.”
“I think DAC has its place and we hope for the technology to scale well … but don’t put all your eggs in that basket,” he said.
US vs Europe
But is this a unanimous perspective? Rob van Straten of DAC unit manufacturer Skytree, argues that the US has a ‘completely different’ view of DAC, which is focused on creating negative emissions.
Speaking during the Summit, he said, “Building big DAC comes from on top of geological formations, selling carbon credits, taking tax credits to monetise and precede multi-year projects, licences being chased … a sort of gold rush.”
DAC deployment in the US is also being driven by the oil industry. Last year, DAC innovator Carbon Engineering was purchased for $1.1bn by oil giant Occidental, which plans to use captured CO2 for enhanced oil recovery.
“In Europe, there’s a completely different view. DAC is seen as a way to create a new source for utilisation,” explained van Straten.
He added that regulators and opinion makers are increasingly narrowing their focus on transitioning CO2 utilisation from fossil fuel-based sources to circular sources – as is evident in advanced greenhouses in the Netherlands.
In line with European perceptions, Skytree’s technology harnesses the idea of decentralised DAC – a concept that focuses on the utilisation, rather than sequestration, aspect of carbon capture.
The company deploys small, modular DAC units onsite where the CO2 is required before modifying it to deliver the amount of CO2 needed by the customer.
By delivering CO2 at the market’s desired price point, Skytree aims to establish scalability for future system expansion.
Large DAC players currently store CO2 underground companies that are looking to fulfil their carbon footprint obligations purchase carbon credits for around €1200 ($1300) per tonne.
Skytree challenges this by using a business model that focuses on supplying CO2 where it’s needed by capturing onsite first.
“We will not compete for business with ever decreasing carbon capture prices but focus on reconfiguring current carbon supply chains which mostly create CO2 out of fossil fuels,” states the company.
A struggling supply chain
However, where the industry can’t keep up is its supply chain. There are 145 DAC companies and yet only one is shipping products.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), DAC deployment would reach the level required in 2030 under the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario, or around 75 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
Van Straten also stated that the chemical industry is not equipped with the production capacity to produce sufficient sorbent for the capture process.
“There are also not enough compressors, vacuum pumps or chillers,” he revealed. “We already have difficulty sourcing these components in sufficient volumes to serve the clients that order [DAC] systems with us.”
Despite this, countries and regions are making notable progress when it comes to advancing DAC technologies.
The US announced new funding in 2022 under the IRA, increasing the 45Q tax credit to $180 per tonne of CO2 captured for storage via DAC.
The European Commission aims to store up to 50 MtCO2 a year by 2030, including from DAC and in March 2023 the UK announced funding of up to £20bn ($25bn) for CCUS applications, including for DAC.
2022 Canada’s budget suggests a tax credit for CCUS projects until 2030, offering a 60% credit for DAC projects storing CO2 at approved sites. January 2023, Japan plans to capture 6-12 MtCO2 annually by 2030, including DAC.
source: gasworld.com
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