Direct Air Capture: Assessing Impacts to Enable Responsible Scaling

The document analyzes the resource requirements and potential externalities of direct air capture (DAC) at both a single-plant (1 MtCO2/year) and a system-wide (0.5 GtCO2/year) scale. It finds that while on-site emissions are low, significant impacts arise from energy demand, land use, and the materials supply chain. The authors argue that responsible scaling requires project-specific social and environmental impact assessments, robust community engagement, and the use of legal agreements like Community Benefits Agreements to ensure equitable distribution of benefits, such as job creation.

• Direct air capture (DAC) plants generally have on-site resource impacts similar to other industrial infrastructure but produce significantly fewer greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions, especially when powered by renewable energy.
• At a scale of 1 million tonnes of CO2 per year, solvent DAC plants require approximately 0.4 square kilometers of land, while sorbent plants require 0.5 square kilometers, excluding the land needed for energy sources.
• The total land footprint for DAC is heavily dependent on the energy source; for a 0.5 GtCO2/year capacity, land needs range from 200 square kilometers for natural gas with CCS to over 33,000 square kilometers for wind power.
• Scaling DAC to 0.5 GtCO2/year would require substantial energy, estimated at approximately 4.4 percent of the 2020 primary energy supply or 3.8 percent of the projected 2050 primary energy supply.
• Large-scale DAC deployment would increase the demand for construction materials, potentially using 13 percent of current annual U.S. concrete and steel production and up to 8 percent of PVC production for a 0.5 GtCO2/year scale.
• Sorbent and solvent production would need to scale significantly; a 0.5 GtCO2/year capacity (split equally between types) would use about 37 percent of current global ethanolamine production and 19 percent of global potassium hydroxide production.
• Water usage varies by technology and climate; solvent plants in West Texas may lose 46 tonnes of water per tonne of CO2, while some sorbent plants using indirect heating can be net water producers in cool, wet climates.
• DAC scale-up offers significant employment opportunities, with an estimated 3,428 jobs generated per megaton-scale plant, including 278 on-site operations and maintenance roles.
• To ensure responsible scaling, the authors recommend that federal funding be contingent on completing social and environmental impact assessments and engaging in robust community consultation.

APA

Lebling, K., Leslie-Bole, H., Psarras, P., Bridgwater, E., Byrum, Z., & Pilorgé, H. (2022). Direct Air Capture: Assessing Impacts to Enable Responsible Scaling. World Resources Institute. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2022-04/direct-air-capture-assessing-impacts-to-enable-responsible-scaling.pdf?VersionId=kfurOHdWhvjKlyT7zWJHzkNdFb7Ss7Ck

Chicago

Lebling, Katie, Haley Leslie-Bole, Peter Psarras, Elizabeth Bridgwater, Zachary Byrum, and Hélène Pilorgé. Direct Air Capture: Assessing Impacts to Enable Responsible Scaling. World Resources Institute, 2022. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2022-04/direct-air-capture-assessing-impacts-to-enable-responsible-scaling.pdf?VersionId=kfurOHdWhvjKlyT7zWJHzkNdFb7Ss7Ck.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lebling |first1=Katie |last2=Leslie-Bole |first2=Haley |last3=Psarras |first3=Peter |last4=Bridgwater |first4=Elizabeth |last5=Byrum |first5=Zachary |last6=Pilorgé |first6=Hélène |title=Direct Air Capture: Assessing Impacts to Enable Responsible Scaling |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=May 2022 |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2022-04/direct-air-capture-assessing-impacts-to-enable-responsible-scaling.pdf?VersionId=kfurOHdWhvjKlyT7zWJHzkNdFb7Ss7Ck |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lebling2022direct, author = {Lebling, Katie and Leslie-Bole, Haley and Psarras, Peter and Bridgwater, Elizabeth and Byrum, Zachary and Pilorgé, Hélène}, title = {{Direct Air Capture: Assessing Impacts to Enable Responsible Scaling}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2022}, month = may, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2022-04/direct-air-capture-assessing-impacts-to-enable-responsible-scaling.pdf?VersionId=kfurOHdWhvjKlyT7zWJHzkNdFb7Ss7Ck}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }