Carbon Capture Research

Carbon capture is one of the most important and most underfunded areas of climate technology. The dominant narrative treats it as a backup plan — something we'll need if emissions reductions fail. The more I researched, the more I became convinced it's not a backup. It's a requirement.

This research project ran from October 2023 through summer 2024 and focused specifically on direct air capture (DAC) — technologies that pull CO₂ directly from the atmosphere rather than from point sources like power plants. DAC is more expensive and energy-intensive than point-source capture, but it's the only approach that actually draws down historical emissions.

The core question I was trying to answer: what are the real cost reduction pathways? The current cost per ton of CO₂ captured via DAC is prohibitively high — $400–$1,000 depending on the system. Learning curve analysis, materials innovation, and process heat integration were the most promising levers.

I also spent time understanding the policy and market dynamics — carbon credit markets, government incentives like the 45Q tax credit, and how different regulatory regimes affect the economics.

The research sharpened my thinking on how hard problems with long time horizons actually get solved — and how rarely the path looks like what anyone predicted.