Mater-thesis: Direct Air Capture as a Carbon Removal Solution: Analyzing Scale-Up, Cost Reduction, and Pathways for Acceleration
Brooke B. DiMartino, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, September 2023
This thesis investigates potential scale-up and cost-reduction pathways for existing direct air capture methods using technological change theory. The literature review provides context for carbon dioxide removal techniques, direct air capture, and technological change theory. Analogous technologies are reviewed for cost-reduction drivers and compared against the common direct air capture methods. This comparison is used for learning and improvement rate analysis to estimate cost reductions for mature direct air capture methods, then used for identification of levers players in the direct air capture market ecosystem can deploy to accelerate scale-up and cost reductions.