Direct Air Capture

ISTC is partnering with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE-NETL) in a nearly $2.5 million project to develop preliminary designs and determine feasibility for the first commercial-scale direct air capture and storage system (DAC+S) for CO₂ removal in the U.S.

The team will evaluate DAC in three climate types using Climeworks’ technology:

• Hot and very dry climate – A test site in southern California near the Salton Sea will use geothermal energy, with the captured CO₂ stored in a saline aquifer.
• Hot and humid climate – A test site in Louisiana will use solar energy to power the DAC system while storing the captured CO₂ in a saline aquifer.
• Midcontinental climate – A test site in Wyoming will operate using wind power and store the captured CO₂ in a depleted natural gas reservoir.

Partners include DOE-NETL, Climeworks, Kiewit Power Engineers, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Gulf Coast Sequestration, North Shore Energy, Sunpower, Ormat, and Sentinel Peak.

Meet the Scientists

• Kevin O’Brien

Videos

• Direct Air Capture Facility Development in the United States, presented by Kevin OBrien

Additional Reading

• Direct Air Capture-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal with United States Low-Carbon Energy and Sinks
• ISTC-led team to design large-scale system for direct air capture and storage of carbon dioxide in the U.S.