Swiss firm Climeworks says new DAC tech can slash costs of carbon removal by 50%

Swiss carbon capture company Climeworks says its DAC technology is capable of cutting in half the cost of removing a ton of carbon from the air, according to a press release. The new Generation 3 technology will initially be deployed in the US following its successful first large-scale testing then expand globally to secured project sites.

How does it work? The new tech features new structured sorbent materials, replacing packed filter beds from previous generations. These new structures increase surface contact with CO2, reducing capture and release time by at least two-fold and capturing more than twice as much CO2. The new filter materials also consume half the energy and are designed to last three times longer.

There are limitations: Back in 2017, Climeworks co-CEO Jan Wurzbacher told Bloomberg he was “very confident” the company could hit a cost of USD 100 per ton, although current costs are closer to USD 1k. Although Climeworks says its tech can reduce costs to between USD 250 and USD 350 per ton by 2030, the target of eventually reaching USD 100 seems less and less likely. “It’s a fantasy,” said a senior research engineer at MIT Energy Initiative Howard Herzog, who explains that the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide isn't sufficiently high for direct air capture (DAC) to achieve very low costs.

Other methods are already cheaper: Different methods of carbon removal, such as ocean carbon sinks and spreading crushed rocks over farmland, are gaining traction and are more cost-effective than DAC, Bloomberg explains. However, DAC technology's precise measurability and ability to securely store captured carbon for millennia could still make it a valuable tool in mitigating climate change.

You can dive deeper into our Enterprise Explains feature unpacking the advantages and disadvantages of direct air capture removal as a decarbonization tool by tapping or clicking here.