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

As federal support for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) faces rollbacks, U.S. states are positioned to advance direct air capture (DAC) by aligning specific technology types with local assets. The report identifies a diverse range of DAC technologies—from fully electric systems to those requiring high-temperature heat—and maps them to state-level opportunities. For example, California's geothermal resources and Texas's renewable curtailment and CO2 infrastructure offer distinct advantages. While some states like Washington and Texas are suited for large-scale sequestration, others like Massachusetts can serve as innovation hubs for waste-heat recovery and CO2 utilization. The document emphasizes that maximizing climate benefit requires pairing DAC with low-carbon energy to avoid eroding net removals.

• The U.S. federal government is reducing its support for carbon dioxide removal (CDR), including a proposed reduction in CDR funding from $70 million in FY2024 to $4 million in the FY2026 President's Budget Request, and the enactment of H.R. 1 in July 2025 which reduces clean-energy tax provisions.
• DAC technologies are categorized by their energy demands into seven buckets, ranging from 100% electric systems to those requiring high-quality heat (300-900+ °C), with most federal funding historically targeting technologies requiring heat between 70-150 °C.
• California has significant potential for DAC due to its geothermal resources in the Imperial Valley and a robust policy framework, including State bill SB 643 (passed September 2025) which provides a $50 million grant program for CDR and quantitative targets of 7 million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2030.
• Texas is well-positioned for DAC deployment due to its extensive CO2 transport and storage infrastructure and high levels of renewable energy curtailment—approximately 5% of wind and 9% of solar generation in 2022—which could power all-electric or low-temperature DAC systems.
• Washington state is ideal for fully electric DAC due to its low grid-carbon intensity and the presence of the Columbia River basalts for geologic storage, with the added benefit of using barges for CO2 transport to avoid pipeline opposition.
• Massachusetts can act as a DAC testbed by leveraging data center waste heat (typically 25-60 °C) and progressive policies, such as the 2024 addition of CDR to the state's definition of clean energy projects under H.5100.

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} }