Large Scale Integration of DAC in Energy Systems

Abstract:
Despite all the progress made in minimizing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, over the last decades society continued to use fossil derived energy at a considerable rate. The generation of renewable energy cannot match the energy demand of the population; hence, CO2 emissions are unlikely to slow down in the upcoming future. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has already identified the need for the rapid development of “negative carbon technologies”, in other words, technologies that can remove CO2 directly from the atmosphere. Direct Air Capture (DAC) technologies have the potential to address emissions from distributed sources, they do not rely on point source carbon capture. On one hand, DAC technologies show the potential to be powered entirely by renewable energy once the concept is fully developed. Thereby, the proper integration with other energy systems remains key in the scaling up stages of the process. On the other hand, the CO₂ removed from the atmosphere provides a wide set of opportunities that could impact the growth rate of the concept and its further insertion into the market. Currently, storing the CO₂ underground is the most employed technique among the operational DAC plants. It fulfils the negative emissions perspective; the CO₂ is straightaway removed from the atmosphere and will not be emitted again by any downstream process. However, the necessity to insert DAC technologies into the mark to assure a proper scale up process implies that other alternative applications for CO₂ must be considered. DAC systems alter the existing value chain of conventional carbon capture technologies. The comprehension and definition of the different value chains is essential to drive the DAC overall costs down. In addition, the appearance of negative carbon technologies has led to the creation of voluntary carbon markets: the amount of CO2 removed from the atmosphere can be sold as a credit in a market where companies seek to compensate for their emissions. The understanding of market dynamics will be key to anticipate and stablish links between DAC projects and potential buyers.
The main goal of this project is to assess the DAC systems integration into other energy systems while addressing unmet concepts in the DAC technologies outlook. It has been identified from the literature that the factors and variables affecting DAC processes need to be better understood. For instance, climate conditions (temperature, humidity, and wind speed), renewable energy accessibility, solvent replacement, CO2 transportation infrastructure, pollution, etc. The develop model will consider different potential DAC locations and will evaluate them according to the identified benchmark parameters. Apart from the technical DAC performance indicators, the study of the carbon credit markets and different CO2 utilisations at the industrial level will be key to define a route towards the DAC scale up. The observed trends are intended to lead DAC location tasks on different territories. This project aims at developing a tool that could play a key role in the initial stages of DAC processes implementation: choosing the type of DAC technology and the location of the plant. Thereby, a detailed handbook encompassing the main factors affecting DAC performance and plant location will be elaborated.

Funding: eDAC Project from Inomission program, Innovation Fund Denmark (IFD)