What is DAC?
DAC stands for Direct Air Capture: a technology that removes carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. DAC technologies are designed to be highly efficient in filtering and removing CO2 through advanced technological solutions and a series of physical and chemical reactions. DAC allows us to remove CO2 directly from the atmosphere at any location, providing a powerful tool in our fight against global warming.
What is the difference between CCS and DAC?
Different purposes and methods: while CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) aims to reduce emissions at the point where they are produced – with the goal of achieving a zero-emission balance at best – DAC aims to erase part of our past carbon footprint generating negative emissions.
What is meant by CDR?
Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) refers to the processes of extracting CO2 already emitted in the past: this includes a range of options, one of which is DAC. Unlike conventional methods, CDR doesn’t occur at the emission source; hence, there’s no need for a filter on a factory chimney. Instead, it involves filtering the air we breathe directly.
What is DAC’s biggest challenge?
DAC technologies generally require a lot of energy to operate and capture CO2, implying high costs and the necessity of large quantities of critical minerals to scale up the process. Those high energy needs may compete with the global efforts for a clean energy transition, and unexpected events can disrupt the supply chain for an entire sector and slow down the development of an industry crucial to meet the climate goals.
How does the CarpeCarbon technology differ from other DAC technologies?
We are developing a system with a lower energy consumption with respect to other DAC technologies, to filter large amounts of air using less energy at a lower cost: this will allow larger quantities of CO2 to be captured and prove DAC technology as feasible on a large scale.
Our technology will be off grid, based on scalable DAC plants, deployable anywhere and with reduced demand for critical minerals: our ultimate goal is to reach 1 GtCO2/year removed (one billion tonnes of CO2!)