Direct Air Capture (DAC): How It Works, Cost & Projects (2026 Deep Dive)
A deep dive on direct air capture (DAC): how it pulls CO₂ out of thin air, solid-sorbent vs liquid-solvent vs electrochemical systems, cost per tonne, permanence, and a look inside a real DAC project in Germany.
What Is Direct Air Capture?
Direct air capture (DAC) is the process of pulling CO2 out of ambient air. It is a cyclical process in which a chemical sorbent or solvent undergoes repeated cycles of CO2 capture and release. The concentrated stream of CO2 can then be coupled with geologic sequestration or mineralization for permanent carbon removal.
Here is what makes DAC unusual. Most climate technology tries to avoid new emissions, a solar panel replaces a coal plant, an EV replaces a petrol engine. DAC does something different: it reaches into the atmosphere and removes carbon that was emitted years or decades ago. That is why scientists call it a carbon removal or negative emissions technology, not just a carbon-cutting one.
The catch is physics. CO2 makes up only about 0.04% of the air, roughly 100 times more dilute than the exhaust at a power plant smokestack. Concentrating something that thin takes energy and clever chemistry, which is why DAC is currently the most expensive form of carbon removal on the market. It is also, arguably, the most scalable and permanent, and its costs are falling fast.
How Does Direct Air Capture Work? The 4-Step Cycle
Every DAC system, whatever the chemistry, follows the same four-step loop. The magic is in step 2, regenerating the capture medium efficiently, because that is where most of the energy and cost live.
Move air across a capture medium
Large fans pull ambient air through a contactor filled with a chemical sorbent (a solid filter) or a liquid solvent (usually alkaline). As air passes through, CO₂ molecules bind selectively to the chemical while the rest of the air flows back out.
Release the captured CO₂
Once the medium is saturated, it is regenerated to release a concentrated stream of CO₂. Solid sorbents are heated or placed under vacuum; liquid solvents are heated to high temperatures; electrochemical systems use electricity to shift the chemistry. The medium is then reused, closing the cycle.
Compress and purify
The released CO₂ is cleaned and compressed into a dense, transportable stream. This is the step that turns diffuse atmospheric carbon into a product that can be permanently stored or used in durable materials.
Store it permanently
The CO₂ is injected deep underground into stable geological formations, or mineralized into solid carbonate rock. Either way it is locked away for thousands to millions of years, delivering true, durable carbon removal that can be measured and verified.
The Three Families of DAC Technology
DAC is not one technology, it is a family of approaches that differ mainly in how they grab CO2 and how they release it. The trade-off is always the same: capture efficiency versus the energy cost of regeneration.
Solid sorbent DAC
Solid filters coated with CO₂-binding chemicals trap carbon at ambient temperature, then release it with low-grade heat (~80-120C) or vacuum. Modular and well suited to waste heat and geothermal.
Liquid solvent DAC
Air is passed through an alkaline solution that absorbs CO₂. The solvent is regenerated at high temperature to release the CO₂. Proven at large scale but energy hungry.
Electrochemical DAC
Uses electricity instead of high-temperature heat to capture and release CO₂. Runs at low temperature and pairs naturally with intermittent solar and wind, cutting operating costs.
Why electrochemical DAC matters: Traditional DAC needs a lot of heat to release captured CO2. Electrochemical systems like Phlair's use electricity instead of heat, run at low temperature, and can flex up and down with cheap, intermittent solar and wind. That is one of the clearest paths to driving DAC costs down toward the $100-$200 per tonne range.
DAC vs Other Carbon Removal Methods
DAC is one of several carbon removal pathways we fund. Each has a different balance of permanence, cost, land use, and how precisely the removal can be measured. Here is how they stack up, and why DAC sits at the premium end.
| Method | Permanence | Cost / tonne | Land use | Measurability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Air CaptureThis article | 1,000+ years | $400–$1,000+ / t | Very low | Very high |
| Biomass Carbon Removal & Storage | 1,000+ years | $100–$350 / t | Low–medium | High |
| Enhanced Weathering | 10,000+ years | $100–$350 / t | Uses existing farmland | Medium–high |
| Forestry (afforestation) | Decades (reversible) | $15–$50 / t | Very high | Medium |
Cost ranges are illustrative 2026 reference bands and vary by project, geography, vintage, and contract size. For a full breakdown of why prices swing so widely, see our guide on how much a carbon credit costs.
Why Is DAC So Expensive, and Why Is That Changing?
In 2026, direct air capture typically costs $400 to $1,000+ per tonne of CO2 removed. Three factors drive that price:
Dilution
At 0.04% CO₂, you have to move enormous volumes of air to capture a single tonne, far more than at a concentrated smokestack.
Energy
Regenerating the sorbent or solvent takes heat and electricity. That energy must be low-carbon, or the removal doesn't count.
Capital cost
Early plants are essentially first-of-a-kind builds. Costs fall as designs standardize and volumes rise, the classic technology learning curve.
The trajectory, though, is downward. Every doubling of deployed capacity tends to lower unit costs, and the current generation of developers is attacking each cost driver directly, pairing capture with waste heat, siting near cheap renewables, using off-the-shelf components, and switching from heat-driven to electricity-driven cycles. Advance market commitments like Frontier exist precisely to guarantee early demand so these companies can scale down the cost curve faster.
Inside a Real DAC Project: Phlair, Munich
Theory is one thing, here is what direct air capture looks like in practice inside our own carbon portfolio. Through the Frontier advance market commitment, 1ClickImpact channels funding into Phlair, a direct air capture developer based in Munich, Germany.
Phlair, Munich, Germany
Phlair has developed a novel electrochemical DAC system that extracts CO2 directly from the ambient atmosphere, removing legacy carbon already circulating in the air rather than capturing emissions at a point source. Unlike most carbon capture technology that requires high-temperature heat, Phlair's process runs at low temperatures and is optimized to pair with intermittent solar energy, dramatically reducing operating costs.
The captured CO2 is either mineralized into stable solid carbonates for permanent storage, or supplied to industrial customers who need verified carbon removal. Germany's solar resources and engineering ecosystem make it an ideal proving ground for gigaton-scale DAC that doesn't depend on fossil-fuel infrastructure.
View the Phlair projectThe Broader DAC Portfolio We Support
Phlair is one of several DAC approaches inside the Frontier portfolio. Together they cover the full spectrum of how to pull carbon from the sky, from waste-heat systems to limestone-based passive capture to low-temperature organic liquids.
Phlair, Munich, Germany
Actively fundingA novel electrochemical DAC system that runs at low temperature and is optimized to pair with solar energy, minimizing capital costs through existing supply chains.
Learn more →280 Earth
Other projectsUses waste heat and off-the-shelf components in a modular system to drive down carbon removal costs and provide co-benefits like cooling.
Learn more →Heirloom
Other projectsHarnesses low-cost limestone and passive air contact to capture CO₂, focusing on scaling through capex efficiency and operational excellence.
Learn more →Holocene
Other projectsCaptures CO₂ using low-cost organic liquids and crystallization, operating at low temperatures to maximize energy efficiency and flexibility.
Learn more →Is Direct Air Capture Worth It?
DAC is not a silver bullet, and no serious climate scientist treats it as one. The first priority is always to cut emissions at the source. But climate models are clear that even with aggressive decarbonization, the world will need to remove billions of tonnes of CO2 per year by mid-century to hit its targets, both to counter hard-to-abate emissions and to draw down the legacy carbon already in the air. That is where durable removal like DAC earns its place.
DAC's Strengths
- Permanent, carbon locked away for 1,000+ years
- Highly measurable, you can meter the exact tonnes removed
- Tiny land footprint compared with forestry
- Sitable almost anywhere with clean energy
- Removes legacy CO₂, not just new emissions
The Honest Caveats
- Expensive today ($400–$1,000+ per tonne)
- Energy intensive, only works with low-carbon power
- Still early: capacity must scale by orders of magnitude
- Not a substitute for cutting emissions at the source
How to Support Direct Air Capture Today
You don't need to build a DAC plant to help scale one. Through 1ClickImpact you can fund durable, Frontier-backed carbon removal, including direct air capture, in a single click, with GPS-located projects and verifiable records.
Capture Carbon
$0.40 / lbFund durable carbon removal across our Frontier portfolio, direct air capture, biomass storage, and enhanced weathering, with permanent, verifiable results.
Capture Carbon Now
Pair It With Trees
$0.40 / treeBlend durable engineered removal with nature-based tree planting for a balanced climate portfolio, GPS-verified and photo-documented.
Plant TreesHow Businesses Can Fund DAC at Scale
For companies, carbon removal shouldn't be a once-a-year spreadsheet exercise. 1ClickImpact lets you wire durable removal directly into your product and operations:
Fund Durable Carbon Removal via API
Call the 1ClickImpact API to capture carbon from Frontier-backed projects, including direct air capture, programmatically. Tag every removal with an order ID and pull verifiable totals from a single endpoint.
See Integrations →Embed a Climate Badge
Add a badge that automatically captures carbon, plants trees, or cleans oceans based on your traffic, turning every page view into real, durable climate action.
Get the Badge →Measure Your Website Carbon
Find out how much CO₂ your website produces per page view with our free calculator, then remove it with verified projects in one click.
Check Your Carbon →Want to see how the projects are verified?
Explore our full carbon removal portfolio, direct air capture, biomass storage, and enhanced weathering, on the impact page, or read how we make every action traceable.
Direct Air Capture FAQs
Pull Carbon Out of the Sky
Direct air capture is one of the most permanent ways to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, and you can help scale it today. Fund durable, Frontier-backed carbon removal in one click, or wire it into your business through our API.