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    Direct air capture (DAC)

    Also known as DAC, DACCS, direct air carbon capture and storage

    Direct air capture with storage (DACCS) uses machines with sorbents or solvents to pull CO2 out of ordinary air and store it underground; it is energy intensive and currently costs roughly $400–2,500 per tonne.[1][2] In 2025 it removed only about 1,500 tonnes worldwide, but upgrades at Climeworks' Mammoth and the planned 500,000-tonne STRATOS plant make 2026 a test of whether it can scale.[3][4][5]

    Editor reviewedUpdated Climate science and carbon removalEnergy and climateScience
    Key facts

    What it is

    Direct air capture (DAC) separates carbon dioxide from ambient air; paired with permanent storage it is called DACCS, one of the “novel” carbon dioxide removal methods.[6] Because CO2 makes up only about 425 parts per million of air, large volumes must be processed.[7] The State of CDR report notes that DACCS is energy intensive and its performance depends on the carbon intensity of the energy it uses.[1]

    How it works

    Capture processes vary. Solid-sorbent systems, which capture CO2 on a filter material, and mineral-looping systems are commercially deployed; liquid-solvent systems are at pilot scale and electrochemical regeneration is earlier still.[1][8] The storage step builds on established geological storage practice.[1]

    Scale and cost

    DACCS removed about 0.0015 million tonnes of CO2 in 2025, against total global removal of about 2.2 billion tonnes, nearly all from forests and soils.[3][9] A 2025 review cited by the State of CDR report found levelized costs of roughly $400–2,500 per tonne, possibly falling to $100–600 at gigatonne scale through economies of scale and learning.[2] Constrained potential estimates range widely, and the highest-ambition scenarios use under 0.1 to 1.8 billion tonnes a year by 2050.[10]

    Landmark plants

    • Mammoth (Iceland). climeworks switched on Mammoth on 8 May 2024 with a nameplate capacity of up to 36,000 tonnes a year.[11] In September 2026 the company said upgrades had more than doubled capture in upgraded containers, and that net removal reached 675 tonnes in the first half of 2026 against 119 tonnes a year earlier.[4][12]
    • STRATOS (Texas). Occidental’s 1PointFive plant is designed for up to 500,000 tonnes a year, with permits to store CO2 in saline formations.[5] Originally due by the end of 2024, it hit a further delay in May 2026 after component problems surfaced during commissioning.[13]
    • US DAC hubs. In April 2026 Carbon Herald reported that federal funding for Project Cypress in Louisiana and the South Texas DAC Hub had been preserved after earlier cancellation signals.[14]

    Open questions

    The main questions are whether plants can reach their nameplate capacity, whether costs fall as projected, and whether buyers keep paying. The State of CDR report flags lifecycle emissions of energy-intensive DACCS as an open measurement problem.[15] Demand is concentrated: Microsoft held 78.5% of disclosed durable removal purchases as of April 2026 and reportedly paused new purchases that month.[16][17]

    Questions readers ask

    How much CO2 does direct air capture remove today?

    Very little. The State of CDR report estimates about 0.0015 million tonnes in 2025, from Climeworks' Orca and Mammoth plants running below capacity.[3]

    How much does direct air capture cost?

    A 2025 review found levelized costs of roughly $400–2,500 per tonne, possibly falling to $100–600 at gigatonne scale.[2]

    When will the STRATOS plant open?

    Occidental first planned operation by the end of 2024, then reported a new delay in May 2026 from component issues. It is designed for up to 500,000 tonnes a year.[13][5]

    Could direct air capture remove billions of tonnes?

    Constrained estimates range from 0.5–5 billion to 5–40 billion tonnes a year, limited by clean energy and storage, and ambitious scenarios use under 0.1 to 1.8 billion tonnes by 2050.[10]

    Sources

    Each numbered claim is a statement we checked against the sources listed with it. Status shows how well established it is.

    1. [1]

      Solid-sorbent and mineral-looping direct air capture are commercially deployed (TRL 9), liquid-solvent systems are at pilot scale (TRL 6–7), and electrochemical regeneration is earlier (TRL 4–6); all are energy intensive. confirmedas of 2026-06-01

    2. [2]

      A 2025 review found levelized costs of direct air capture gross removal of roughly $400–2,500 per tonne, possibly falling to $100–600 per tonne at gigatonne scale. confirmedas of 2026-06-01

    3. [3]

      Direct air capture with storage removed about 0.0015 million tonnes (roughly 1,500 tonnes) of CO2 in 2025, with Climeworks' Orca and Mammoth both still running below full capacity. confirmedas of 2026-06-01

    4. [4]

      On 10 September 2026 Climeworks said sorbent and plant upgrades had more than doubled CO2 capture in upgraded collector containers at Mammoth and cut operating costs per tonne by more than 50%. confirmedas of 2026-09-10

    5. [5]

      Occidental's 1PointFive STRATOS plant in the Texas Permian Basin is designed to capture up to 500,000 tonnes of CO2 a year, with Class VI permits for three wells to store about 722,000 tonnes a year in saline formations. confirmedas of 2026-03-03

    6. [6]

      The State of CDR report splits removal into "conventional" methods, largely forests and soils, and "novel" methods such as biochar, enhanced weathering and direct air carbon capture and storage. confirmedas of 2026-06-01

    7. [7]

      Global mean surface concentrations in 2025 were 425.6 ppm for carbon dioxide, 1936.3 ppb for methane and 339.4 ppb for nitrous oxide. confirmedas of 2026-06-11

    8. [8]

      Climeworks, headquartered in Zurich, began as a laboratory project at ETH Zurich, built the first commercial direct air capture plant in Switzerland, and then built Orca and Mammoth in Iceland. confirmedas of 2026-09-10

    9. [9]

      Total carbon removal is about 2.2 billion tonnes of CO2 a year, around 5% of gross CO2 emissions; conventional methods provide 99.9% and novel methods about 2 million tonnes, growing about 40% a year. confirmedas of 2026-06-01

    10. [10]

      Constrained estimates of direct air capture potential range from 5–40 billion tonnes a year (IPCC AR6) down to 0.5–5 billion tonnes by 2050, and the highest-ambition scenarios use less than 0.1 to 1.8 billion tonnes by 2050. confirmedas of 2026-06-01

    11. [11]

      Climeworks' Mammoth plant at Hellisheiði, Iceland started operations on 8 May 2024, with 12 of its 72 collector containers installed, and has a nameplate capacity of up to 36,000 tonnes of CO2 a year, about ten times its predecessor Orca. confirmedas of 2024-05-08

    12. [12]

      Mammoth produced 675 tonnes of net CO2 removal in the first half of 2026, compared with 119 tonnes in the first half of 2025. confirmedas of 2026-09-10

    13. [13]

      In May 2026 Occidental said STRATOS, first planned to operate by the end of 2024, had hit an unexpected delay from component issues after its core process units performed as expected in testing. E&E News noted the plant is designed for 500,000 tonnes a year, against 36,000 tonnes for the largest DAC plant then operating. confirmedas of 2026-05-07

    14. [14]

      In April 2026 Carbon Herald reported that the US Department of Energy had kept funding for the two large DAC hubs, Project Cypress in Louisiana (a Heirloom, Climeworks and Battelle partnership) and the South Texas DAC Hub (1PointFive/Occidental), after earlier signals they could be cancelled. reportedas of 2026-04-17

    15. [15]

      The State of CDR report lists open problems for novel CDR quality, including sustainable biomass sourcing for BECCS and biochar, permanence of storage, measurement of enhanced weathering and ocean alkalinity enhancement, and lifecycle emissions of energy-intensive DACCS. confirmedas of 2026-06-01

    16. [16]

      Microsoft accounted for 78.5% of all disclosed durable carbon removal tonnes purchased as of April 2026, according to CDR.fyi. confirmedas of 2026-06-12

    17. [17]

      In April 2026 Heatmap News and Bloomberg reported that Microsoft was pausing future carbon removal purchases; Microsoft said it may "adjust the pace or volume" of its procurement. confirmedas of 2026-04-16

    18. [18]

      Frontier is an advance market commitment that aims to accelerate carbon removal technologies by guaranteeing future demand for them. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    19. [19]

      BECCS is an umbrella term for technologies that turn biomass into energy and capture and geologically store the CO2; bioethanol with CCS is commercial (TRL 9) while biomass combustion with CCS is at demonstration stage (TRL 7). confirmedas of 2026-06-01

    20. [20]

      Direct ocean capture pumps seawater through electrochemical systems to extract dissolved CO2, after which the CO2-depleted seawater gradually takes up atmospheric CO2; it is at lab-to-pilot scale (TRL 5) with system-level costs estimated at $1,000–2,000 per tonne. confirmedas of 2026-06-01

    Revision history (1)
    1. Page created.

    Created Oct 10, 2026. Last reviewed by an editor on Oct 10, 2026. Next scheduled review: Jan 10, 2027.

    Cite this page

    "Direct air capture (DAC)." ContentLora, updated Oct 10, 2026. https://contentlora.com/wiki/direct-air-capture

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