The Energy Department announced today that it is awarding up to $1.2 billion to two projects to directly remove carbon dioxide from the air in what officials are calling the largest investment in “engineered carbon removal” in history, according to the Associated Press. The process, known as direct air capture, does not yet exist on a meaningful scale and could be a game-changer if it did and were economical.
Project Cypress will be built in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, while South Texas DAC is planned for Kleberg County, Texas. Each project claims it initially will capture up to 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. A representative of the Texas project said it will scale up to remove 30 million metric tons per year once fully operational. No date was given.
Officials said the projects will create 5,000 jobs for local workers and people formerly employed in the fossil fuel industry. The announcement shows the big bets the Biden administration is making on technologies that capture carbon dioxide from the air and store it underground to address climate change.
Several scientists agreed with making some investment in direct air capture, but some others say the technology for removing carbon dioxide from the air is still in its infancy, funding it is misguided, and the focus should be on eliminating emissions.
It’s still unclear what role direct air capture will play in lowering emissions. Established technologies like solar, wind, and batteries continue to grow fast.
