Direct Air Capture
Podcast episodes about Direct Air Capture (DAC)
We have produced several episodes about Direct Air Capture, all of which you will find here.
#67 Accelerating Direct Air Capture - Switching into Gigaton Gear
In this episode, we flip the cards a little. Heidi Fossland, the new administrative director for NTNU Energy Transition, interviews our regular host, Julius Wesche about the multifaceted challenges and advancements in direct air capture (DAC) technology.
Julius discusses his comprehensive study based on 34 interviews with experts, shedding light on the seven key functions essential for fostering innovation within the DAC sector. The conversation delves into topics such as market creation, legitimacy concerns, resource mobilization, and the impact of policy frameworks on technological deployment. Julius emphasizes the importance of establishing a robust innovation system that accelerates DAC deployment to achieve gigaton-scale carbon capture. He also touches on the potential policy implications of his findings, suggesting strategic approaches to enhance regulatory frameworks, education, and public communication to combat climate change effectively.
Mitchel Selby works on Shopify's Sustainability Fund, which supports the most promising solutions to fighting climate change. Right now, they're focused on kickstarting carbon removal and decarbonizing shipping.
Despite increasing awareness and calls for action, many companies are still wary of making investments in carbon removal. But fear not, Mitchel Selby and Shopify have put together a comprehensive guide to make the process a lot less daunting. In "Buying Carbon Removal, Explained" they lay out nine lessons that cover everything from building a strong business case to finalizing a contract with your supplier. So in this episode, we demystify purchasing carbon removal and learn how to make a positive impact on the environment.
This podcast episode is the third in a series about Direct Air Capture (DAC), a technology that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Our guest this time is Andrew Shebbeare, a managing partner at Counteract, a company that focuses on combatting climate change through Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technologies through research, development, and investments. The episode covers topics such as the barriers, drivers, and types of markets for DAC, and discusses what needs to happen for it to scale in the future.
Mentioned in this episode: https://www.cdr.fyi/
Policy measures to support Direct Air Capture
Sasha Mackler is the director of the Energy Program at the Bipartisan Policy Center - a Washington, DC-based think tank. He has spent over 20 years in this field, including 10 years in the private sector working on carbon capture and biomass fuel supply. Mackler has managed a number of energy policy projects on topics such as tax incentives, federal RD&D, finance, workforce transition, carbon capture and storage, low carbon fuels, cap and trade, climate impacts and adaptation, and geoengineering research.
Policies play a crucial role in defining the environment in which technologies, such as direct air capture (DAC), can thrive or struggle. Several policy measures have been implemented in the United States in recent years to support DAC. One such policy is 45Q, a section of the US Internal Revenue Code that supports carbon capture and was enacted in 2008. The Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) is another policy measure, initially implemented in California in 2007, which aims to drive the use of clean fuels and includes DAC as a qualifying pathway for decarbonizing fuels. The Energy Act of 2020 authorized new programs for the US Department of Energy to support the demonstration and commercialization of advanced energy technologies, including DAC. Recently, The Inflation Reduction Act, adopted in August 2022, provides incentives for carbon capture, utilization, and storage projects.
Direct Air Capture - A silver bullet to reverse climate change?
Christopher Jones is a Professor at Georgia University of Technology and has been working on direct air capture (DAC) technology since 2008.
Direct air capture is a process that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in order to reduce the negative impacts of climate change. In this podcast episode, Jones discusses the importance of this technology in reversing the paradigm of emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere for the past 100 years and how it can be used as a waste management solution to clean up the excess CO2 we have released. He also touches on the shift in discourse surrounding DAC, the increasing prevalence of this technology in media, and its importance in the energy transition and climate change mitigation.
Direct Air Capture and other CDR technologies
The CO2 is all around us, can't we just collect and store it safely? Today's guest is Jay Fuhrman. He is a postdoctoral researcher at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Joint Global Change Research Institute. He received his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Virginia in 2021. Jay’s research uses integrated assessment models to understand the transitions required for deep climate mitigation, including the large-scale deployment of carbon dioxide removal technologies, their potential side-effects, and co-benefits.
What is Direct Air Capture?
Direct Air Capture (DAC) is a technology that captures carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the air. It works by passing air through a filter or absorbent material that selectively removes CO2, which is then either stored or used for various applications. DAC has the potential to reduce atmospheric CO2 levels and mitigate the impacts of climate change. However, it is currently not widely deployed due to high costs and technical challenges. Research is ongoing to improve the efficiency and reduce the costs of DAC systems. Some potential applications of DAC include carbon sequestration, enhanced oil recovery, and the production of synthetic fuels.