Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage: Introduction and Implications for Power Grids

To achieve global net zero targets, Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) is crucial. CDR technologies remove CO2 from the atmosphere and store it permanently, thereby lowering the total concentration of atmospheric CO2. Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS) is a specific chemical-based CDR method that can extract both historical and current CO2 emissions.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) indicates a global annual DACCS requirement of 85MtCO2 by 2030, rising to 980MtCO2 by 2050 [1], demonstrating the rapid acceleration required from 0.01MtCO2 installed globally in 2022 [2].
What does the growth of DACCS mean for electricity grids? This article investigates the likely impacts and considers how DACCS electrical demand varies by technology.