Scaling Direct Air Capture: Key insights from the DAC² Innovation Platform
Copyright: PtX Lab Lausitz / Toni Kretschmer
On 27 May, stakeholders from across the DAC value chain discussed key conditions for accelerating the scale-up of Direct Air Capture technologies.
On 27 May 2026, the PtX Lab Lausitz hosted the first online working meeting of the DAC² Innovation Platform – Direct, Active and Collaborative – bringing together representatives from industry, research, infrastructure and policy. The exchange focused on the key challenges and enabling conditions for scaling Direct Air Capture (DAC) technologies and highlighted the importance of stronger collaboration across the DAC ecosystem. While participants approached the topic from different perspectives, a common conclusion emerged: large-scale DAC deployment will require coordinated progress in regulation, financing and infrastructure development.
Regulatory clarity for market development
Participants emphasized the need for clearer and more coherent regulatory frameworks to support project development and investment. In particular, discussions focused on CO₂ transport and storage, monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) requirements, certification schemes and the validation of storage permanence. Uncertainties regarding the regulatory treatment of CO₂ and cross-border transport were identified as additional challenges. The discussion highlighted that greater regulatory clarity will be essential to create planning certainty and enable future market growth.
Financing the scale-up
Economic viability remains one of the most significant barriers to DAC deployment. Participants identified limited availability of risk capital, high cost uncertainties and a lack of suitable scale-up funding instruments as major bottlenecks. Particular attention was given to the gap between early pilot projects and larger commercial facilities, where dedicated financing mechanisms are often missing. The discussion also highlighted the need for stronger alignment between technology development, funding structures and emerging market opportunities to improve the long-term bankability of DAC projects.
Infrastructure and system integration
The discussion underlined the importance of suitable locations, reliable access to low-carbon energy and the development of downstream CO₂ transport, storage and utilisation infrastructure. Participants also stressed that DAC scale-up will depend on stronger coordination across the value chain, including collaboration between technology providers, infrastructure actors, industrial clusters and off-takers. In addition to technical challenges, the need for clearer long-term frameworks for carbon management and infrastructure planning was identified as an important prerequisite for large-scale deployment.
Overall, the meeting demonstrated the strong interest in building a more connected and collaborative DAC ecosystem. The DAC² Innovation Platform will continue to facilitate dialogue and knowledge exchange on the regulatory, financial and infrastructural conditions required to advance DAC deployment in Europe and beyond.
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Stefan Günthner
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