TECHNICAL ARTICLE for the positive press from fostering these nascent technologies. Demand outstrips supply for these lucrative credits, with most sales taking the form of pre-purchase agreements. Durable carbon removal credits have sold for hundreds of dollars per tonne of CO 2, and 2023 was a breakout year for sales, with 2024 seeing an even stronger performance.
Direct air capture
Direct air capture is expensive. CO 2 levels in the atmosphere are low, demanding large amounts of energy for CO 2 separation. Currently, compliance market support for direct air capture is severely lacking. Even in regions where governmental financial support is available, such as the US 45Q tax credit scheme, the money on offer falls below the cost of capturing and storing carbon dioxide. The success of DAC companies has therefore largely been driven by voluntary market support via carbon credit purchases.
For example, in July 2024 Microsoft agreed to purchase 500,000 tonnes of removal credits from Occidental’ s 1PointFive Stratos direct air capture facility. When Stratos opens in 2025 in Ector County, Texas, it will become the largest DAC facility in the world( removing 0.5 million tonnes per year of CO 2 directly from the atmosphere). At such a large scale, the economics of DAC are expected to improve. Profitable demonstration will be essential to the future of the technology.
CO 2
-derived concrete
For many CO 2 utilization applications, the volume of CO 2 recycled is small, limiting revenue generation potential from voluntary carbon credit sales. However, some utilization applica-
APRIL 2025 • FUGITIVE EMISSIONS JOURNAL 17