Bipartisan Policy Center’s DAC Day

June 29, 2022

Bipartisan Policy Center’s DAC Day

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) allocated $12.17 billion for direct air capture (DAC) and carbon management over the next five years. $3.5 billion of that funding will be used for the development of four new DAC hubs. The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) held its annual DAC day on June 22, 2022. Speakers included Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Kelly Cummins, principal deputy director of the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations.

DOE has issued a notice of intent (NOI) regarding the selection process of the hubs, which can be downloaded here. The funding mechanism is through grant or cooperative agreements and recipients may include technology developers, utilities, universities, national laboratories, engineering and construction firms, state and local governments, tribal environmental groups, and community-based organizations.

The exact locations for the new developments have not been released but the funding is expected to be issued in Q4 FY2022. We also know that at least two hubs will be developed in high fossil-producing regions. The top five coal-producing states are Wyoming, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and North Dakota, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.  The top five crude oil producers are Texas, New Mexico, North Dakota, Alaska, and Colorado, according to Statista. 

DAC hubs are necessary components to reach net-zero emission goals and can very well be the next breakthrough in technology that drives an industrial revolution. According to BPC these hubs can integrate the power, transportation, manufacture, and infrastructure sectors together. 

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