1. Outline
This report is an external piece of analysis commissioned by the CCC from City Science to help inform the CCC’s Seventh Carbon Budget advice published in February 2025. This report assesses the feasibility of deploying large-scale direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS) in the UK, including potential costs and constraints.
This report reflects the views of City Science and does not represent the views of the CCC.
2. Key messages
The key messages of this report are:
- DACCS deployment is not expected to begin until at least 2030 and the maximum feasible scale-up by 2050 is deemed to be in the region of 20-30 MtCO2 capacity.
- CO2 transport and storage infrastructure, electricity grid connection and availability, and the availability of chemical consumables are found to be key constraining factors.
- Estimates of costs are highly uncertain. Costs are likely to fall with deployment over time but will remain high, albeit not necessarily higher than high-cost abatement measures in other sectors.
- While costs in the UK may be higher than in some other locations globally, the UK has a considerable CO2 storage asset and is more advanced than most in planning the infrastructure and business models necessary for DACCS. There are therefore factors that may make the UK an attractive location for DACCS deployment.
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