Scaling Direct Air Capture in the US: From Public Investment to Market Integration

This report by the World Resources Institute examines the potential for U.S. states to lead the deployment of Direct Air Capture (DAC) technologies as federal funding and policy support for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) face rollbacks and uncertainty.

• The U.S. federal government has provided foundational support for CDR, enabling the DAC industry to grow from a few companies less than a decade ago to approximately 150 today, with over half headquartered in the U.S.
• Recent federal shifts have created uncertainty for DAC projects, including the FY2026 President's Budget Request which proposed reducing CDR funding from $70 million in FY2024 to $4 million, and H.R. 1 (enacted July 2025), which reduced clean-energy tax provisions.
• DAC technologies are diverse in their energy requirements, falling into categories such as 100% electric, humidity swing, plasma explicit systems, and various thermal-electric combinations requiring temperatures ranging from below 70 °C to over 900 °C.
• California is positioned for DAC deployment due to its geothermal and solar-thermal resources, particularly in the Imperial Valley, and a robust policy framework including SB 643, which created a $50 million competitive grant program for CDR.
• Texas offers significant advantages for DAC through its extensive CO2 transport and storage infrastructure, high levels of renewable energy curtailment (5% of wind and 9% of solar in 2022), and the development of major projects like the Stratos DAC project and the South Texas DAC hub.
• Washington state is well-suited for all-electric DAC due to its low grid-carbon intensity and geologic storage potential in the Columbia River basalts, with the added benefit of using barges for CO2 transport.
• Massachusetts serves as a testbed for DAC innovation and CO2 utilization, leveraging a clean electricity grid and data center waste heat (25-60 degrees C), supported by 2024 legislation that added CDR to the state's definition of clean energy projects.

APA

World Resources Institute (2025). Scaling Direct Air Capture in the US: From Public Investment to Market Integration. https://www.wri.org/technical-perspectives/scaling-direct-air-capture-states

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Scaling Direct Air Capture in the US: From Public Investment to Market Integration. 2025. https://www.wri.org/technical-perspectives/scaling-direct-air-capture-states.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Scaling Direct Air Capture in the US: From Public Investment to Market Integration |date=18 September 2025 |url=https://www.wri.org/technical-perspectives/scaling-direct-air-capture-states |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2025scaling, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Scaling Direct Air Capture in the US: From Public Investment to Market Integration}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2025}, month = sep, url = {https://www.wri.org/technical-perspectives/scaling-direct-air-capture-states}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }