Why is net removal lower than gross capture?

Running a DAC plant consumes energy, and if that energy is not zero-carbon it emits CO2. Those parasitic emissions must be subtracted from gross capture to give net removal. The tool computes net tonnes as gross capture minus energy-related emissions, then divides total cost by net tonnes.

What energy demand should I use?

Solid sorbent DAC typically needs roughly 5 to 10 GJ of thermal-equivalent energy per tonne of CO2, while liquid solvent systems can be higher. Convert your figure to kWh (1 GJ is about 278 kWh) and enter the total energy per tonne, including both heat and electricity.

Why does grid carbon intensity matter so much?

If the energy powering capture is carbon-intensive, a large share of the CO2 you capture is offset by the emissions of running the plant, sometimes most of it. Powering DAC with very low-carbon energy is essential for the net removal cost to stay reasonable, which is why the tool surfaces net tonnes explicitly.

How does this compare to IEA targets?

The IEA and most roadmaps project DAC costs falling from current levels well above 500 dollars per tonne toward 100 to 200 dollars per tonne by 2050 as plants scale and energy decarbonises. The tool flags whether your computed figure sits above, within, or below those milestone bands.

Is levelised capital cost the same as total CAPEX?

No. You enter capital cost already amortised per tonne of annual capacity, which spreads the upfront build cost across the plant's productive life and discount rate. This lets the tool combine it cleanly with per-tonne operating and energy costs into one levelised figure.

What is the Direct Air Capture Break-Even Calculator?

Enter plant capacity, capital cost, operating cost, energy demand per tonne, grid carbon intensity, and energy price to compute the levelised cost of carbon removal in dollars per net tonne removed and benchmark it against IEA cost-down trajectories. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

Direct Air Capture Break-Even Calculator

Name: Direct Air Capture Break-Even Calculator
Creator: Gera Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Direct air capture (DAC) removes CO2 directly from ambient air, but its cost per tonne is highly sensitive to plant scale, energy demand, and crucially the carbon intensity of the energy that powers it. This calculator computes the levelised cost of carbon removal (LCCR) on a net basis — after subtracting the parasitic emissions of running the plant — and benchmarks it against the cost-down trajectory the IEA projects.

How it works

The calculation combines three cost components per tonne and adjusts capture for energy emissions:

energy cost   = energy_kWh_per_t × price_per_kWh
parasitic CO2 = energy_kWh_per_t × grid_intensity_kg_per_kWh / 1000   (t per t captured)
net fraction  = 1 − parasitic CO2
cost per gross tonne = capex_per_t + opex_per_t + energy cost
LCCR (per net t)     = cost per gross tonne / net fraction

Because the cost is incurred per tonne captured but the climate benefit accrues per tonne net removed, dividing by the net fraction is what produces an honest removal cost. Powering the plant with high-carbon energy shrinks the net fraction sharply and inflates the LCCR.

Example and notes

A plant capturing 1,000 tCO2/year at 300 capex per tonne, 150 opex per tonne, needing 2,000 kWh per tonne at 0.04 per kWh, on a grid at 0.05 kg CO2/kWh, has a small parasitic fraction and a gross cost near 530 per tonne. On a dirty grid at 0.4 kg/kWh the parasitic fraction climbs to 0.8 tonne emitted per tonne captured, leaving a net fraction of only 0.2 and pushing the net removal cost far higher. The lesson is structural: DAC economics live or die on cheap, low-carbon energy, not on the capture chemistry alone.

Energy demand: solid sorbent vs liquid solvent

The two main DAC technologies have very different energy profiles:

Solid direct air capture (S-DAC) — uses a solid sorbent that binds CO2 at ambient temperature, then releases it when heated. Energy demand is primarily thermal (low-temperature heat, roughly 80–120°C) plus electricity for fans and compression. Total energy is typically in the range of 5–10 GJ per tonne of CO2 (about 1,400–2,800 kWh/t).
Liquid solvent DAC (L-DAC) — uses a liquid hydroxide solution that reacts with atmospheric CO2, then regenerates at much higher temperatures (roughly 900°C calcination). Energy demand is higher, and regeneration heat must come from a high-temperature source.

These figures are approximate ranges from published project data and academic literature. Your specific plant design, capture rate, and sorbent cycle will produce different values. Enter the actual design figure for your plant rather than using these ranges as defaults.

Using this for investment and policy analysis

The LCCR this calculator produces is useful for:

Comparing DAC to other carbon removal pathways such as bioenergy with carbon capture (BECCS) or enhanced weathering, on a cost-per-net-tonne basis.
Carbon credit pricing — a removal credit cannot be priced below the LCCR without a subsidy. If the LCCR is 600 USD/t and credits sell at 200 USD/t, the gap is the subsidy required per tonne.
Sensitivity analysis — vary energy price and grid intensity to see how much of the total cost is locked into current energy market conditions versus the plant’s capital structure.
IEA benchmark comparison — the tool flags where your computed figure sits relative to the published IEA cost-down milestones, useful for assessing whether a plant design is on a plausible trajectory toward commercial viability.

The output is only as good as the inputs. Treat CAPEX per tonne as already amortised over the plant’s productive lifetime at the relevant discount rate — do not enter total construction cost directly.