Direct air capture produces a concentrated CO2 stream from atmospheric carbon. What happens next determines both the commercial model and the climate claim.

Pathway 01

Durable removal

Atmospheric CO2 is placed into verified long-duration storage.

Primary value

High-integrity carbon-removal units, long-term offtake and storage-service relationships.

Pathway 02

CO2 utilisation

Captured CO2 becomes an input to a product or industrial process.

Primary value

CO2 supply, product offtake, process integration, licensing and partner value-sharing.

What qualifies as permanent removal

A durable-removal pathway must begin with atmospheric CO2 and end with storage designed to retain that carbon over the required period. The European Union's permanent-removal methodologies cover direct air carbon capture and storage and define requirements for quantification, permanence and verification.

Commercial value can come from removal purchases or long-term offtake, but only where the complete chain-from capture through storage and accounting-meets the relevant quality requirements.

Where utilisation creates value

CO2 can be used in fuels, chemicals, mineralised construction materials and other industrial applications. A technology provider may monetise that pathway through conditioned-CO2 supply, offtake contracts, integration fees, licensing or a share in the value of the resulting product.

The destination determines the specification. Purity, pressure, contaminants, continuity of supply, location and energy use can all change the commercial viability of a proposed partnership.

Utilisation can be a revenue pathway without being a permanent carbon-removal pathway.

Why utilisation is not automatically removal

Fuels release their carbon when used, and many chemicals retain it for a limited period. Some mineralised products can hold carbon much longer. The IEA therefore stresses that climate benefit depends on the CO2 source, the product displaced, the energy used, retention time and a complete lifecycle assessment.

A credible website and commercial proposal should keep the categories separate: permanent-removal revenue where storage and verification support that claim; utilisation revenue where CO2 creates a product or process input.

The questions a utilisation partner must answer

  • What CO2 specification does the downstream process require?
  • How much low-carbon energy is needed across the full pathway?
  • Which conventional product or feedstock is displaced?
  • How long is the carbon retained?
  • Who owns the product, environmental attributes and accounting claim?
  • What volume, location and continuity of supply make the route economic?

Air View's position

The Air View pilot creates optionality rather than a predetermined claim. Gate 4 should define a specific downstream partner and test the CO2 output against that destination's requirements. A storage partner and a utilisation partner may need different system interfaces and support different forms of revenue.

Keeping both routes open can strengthen the commercial programme, as long as the language, measurement and carbon accounting remain precise.