The role of direct air capture in achieving climate-neutral aviation
Abstract Growing demand for air travel and limited scalable solutions pose significant challenges to the mitigation of aviation’s climate change impact. Direct air capture (DAC) may gain prominence due to its versatile applications for either carbon removal (direct air carbon capture and storage, DA...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55482-6 |
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| _version_ | 1841544455676493824 |
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| author | Nicoletta Brazzola Amir Meskaldji Anthony Patt Tim Tröndle Christian Moretti |
| author_facet | Nicoletta Brazzola Amir Meskaldji Anthony Patt Tim Tröndle Christian Moretti |
| author_sort | Nicoletta Brazzola |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Growing demand for air travel and limited scalable solutions pose significant challenges to the mitigation of aviation’s climate change impact. Direct air capture (DAC) may gain prominence due to its versatile applications for either carbon removal (direct air carbon capture and storage, DACCS) or synthetic fuel production (direct air carbon capture and utilization, DACCU). Through a comprehensive and time-dynamic techno-economic assessment, we explore the conditions for synthetic fuels from DACCU to become cost-competitive with an emit-and-remove strategy based on DACCS under 2050 CO2 and climate neutrality targets. We find that synthetic fuels could achieve climate neutrality at lower cost than an emit-and-remove strategy due to their ability to cost-effectively mitigate contrails. Under demand reductions, contrail avoidance, and CO2 neutrality targets the cost advantage of synthetic fuels weakens or disappears. Low electricity cost (€0.02 kWh-1) and high fossil kerosene prices (€0.9 l-1) can favor synthetic fuels’ cost-competitiveness even under these conditions. Strategic interventions, such as optimal siting and the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies, can thus favor a shift away from fossil-reliant aviation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-aad7f13000e44c9a972276544fa1fdd2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-aad7f13000e44c9a972276544fa1fdd22025-01-12T12:31:48ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-0116111210.1038/s41467-024-55482-6The role of direct air capture in achieving climate-neutral aviationNicoletta Brazzola0Amir Meskaldji1Anthony Patt2Tim Tröndle3Christian Moretti4Institute for Environmental Decisions, ETH ZürichInstitute for Environmental Decisions, ETH ZürichInstitute for Environmental Decisions, ETH ZürichInstitute for Environmental Decisions, ETH ZürichInstitute for Environmental Decisions, ETH ZürichAbstract Growing demand for air travel and limited scalable solutions pose significant challenges to the mitigation of aviation’s climate change impact. Direct air capture (DAC) may gain prominence due to its versatile applications for either carbon removal (direct air carbon capture and storage, DACCS) or synthetic fuel production (direct air carbon capture and utilization, DACCU). Through a comprehensive and time-dynamic techno-economic assessment, we explore the conditions for synthetic fuels from DACCU to become cost-competitive with an emit-and-remove strategy based on DACCS under 2050 CO2 and climate neutrality targets. We find that synthetic fuels could achieve climate neutrality at lower cost than an emit-and-remove strategy due to their ability to cost-effectively mitigate contrails. Under demand reductions, contrail avoidance, and CO2 neutrality targets the cost advantage of synthetic fuels weakens or disappears. Low electricity cost (€0.02 kWh-1) and high fossil kerosene prices (€0.9 l-1) can favor synthetic fuels’ cost-competitiveness even under these conditions. Strategic interventions, such as optimal siting and the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies, can thus favor a shift away from fossil-reliant aviation.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55482-6 |
| spellingShingle | Nicoletta Brazzola Amir Meskaldji Anthony Patt Tim Tröndle Christian Moretti The role of direct air capture in achieving climate-neutral aviation Nature Communications |
| title | The role of direct air capture in achieving climate-neutral aviation |
| title_full | The role of direct air capture in achieving climate-neutral aviation |
| title_fullStr | The role of direct air capture in achieving climate-neutral aviation |
| title_full_unstemmed | The role of direct air capture in achieving climate-neutral aviation |
| title_short | The role of direct air capture in achieving climate-neutral aviation |
| title_sort | role of direct air capture in achieving climate neutral aviation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55482-6 |
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