🌍 Exciting insights on direct air capture (DAC) from Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

I'm thrilled to share an insightful article from the BCG on shifting the paradigm of Direct Air Capture (#DAC), a crucial technology for achieving net-zero goals. This follows yesterday’s post on the DAC Summit (see here: https://lnkd.in/dNHmEDcm). This article sheds light on the potential for DAC in scaling up the carbon removal (#CDR) ecosystem.

What is the current state of DAC?

✅ The article highlights DAC as #scalable, #permanent, and #verifiable. DAC is over 100 times more efficient than #reforestation and is able to sequester carbon for centuries.

💵 However, to fully realize the potential of up to 3Gt CO2/year, we must address its current challenges, including high costs and inadequate support from governments and stakeholders.

📉 The authors estimate that the end-to-end cost of DAC (including final storage) needs to decrease from $600-$1,000 per ton of CO2 today to below $200 per ton, and ideally closer to $100 per ton by 2050.

What can we do to make DAC more economically viable?

🧠 Accelerate shared learning: Players in the industry should share their knowledge and collaborate to drive down costs. Learning rates need to move from 11% to 15%.

🏢 Treat DAC as a public utility: Governments can provide financial and commercial guarantees, reducing the weighted average cost of capital (#WACC) and introducing legislation to ensure companies comply with removal obligations.

🎯 Expand compliance carbon markets: we should aim to include DAC and revise carbon accounting rules to count permanent CO2 removals towards emissions targets.

🔍 Identify optimal locations: Variables such as ample storage capacity, abundant renewable energy, and favorable climatic conditions should be looked at to establish a robust DAC infrastructure.

BCG’s article showcases the advantages of DAC that complement other CDR approaches. To fully realize the potential of DAC, however, a collaborative effort is required to address its current challenges, including high costs and inadequate support from governments and stakeholders. Though still nascent, DAC could play a critical role in achieving net-zero targets.

While low-cost DAC presents challenges, it is no different from any other revolutionary technology: it needs ambitious public policies. Shoutout to the team of authors, including Habib Azarabadi, Thomas Baker, Alex Dewar, Rich Lesser, Karan Mistry, PhD, Oluseye 'Bayo' Owolabi, Katherine Phillips, Cornelius Pieper, Bas Sudmeijer, and David Webb.

Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/d8K8r_nS.