UK-based Airhive has started operations at a direct air capture (DAC) facility that demonstrates its lower-cost technology at commercial scale, opening a new route for DAC to prove its value in the fight against climate change.

The company is now capturing carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere with its system in Alberta, Canada. Now in operational ramp-up, the system uses a novel DAC method based on fluidised beds, a proven industrial technology. The speed and efficiency of this fluidisation-based capture method, combined with its recovery and reuse of heat within the system, is helping Airhive dramatically lower costs.

Prices of DAC credits from built and operating DAC facilities , of which there are very few, have remained high at around $1,000 (€864) per tonne. The cost of CO2 captured from Airhive’s system will be below $500 per tonne (€432), net of lifecycle emissions and excluding transportation and storage, once operational ramp-up is complete in 2026.

The company has a clear path to lower costs even further as it scales and optimises its technology.

Rory Brown, founder and CEO of Airhive says: 'High costs and operational delays have unfairly clouded the case for direct air capture, which remains a crucial way to permanently remove CO2 from the atmosphere at scale. We are showing that DAC can be delivered not just quickly and at meaningful scales, but also at a cost that advances the sector towards commercial viability.”