While the next decade is decisive for scaling direct air capture (DAC), as early deployment shapes long-run costs and availability, the conditions for a thriving innovation system are changing. In addition to persistent challenges of high energy demand, high costs and uncertain revenue streams tied to government support, the market and demand are constantly evolving, introducing additional uncertainty.
Resilience is key in times of uncertainty, but how resilient is the Direct Air Capture Innovation System? Defining resilience as the innovation system’s capacity to absorb disruption without loss of function, we operationalize this through the concept of economic diversity. We systematically analyze diversity across a set of five innovation system categories. To do so, we collect, aggregate and analyze data from diverse sources.
In my presentation on Wednesday, June 10th, I will present our resilience framework and dive deeper into our preliminary findings. I look forward to discussing these findings, getting input on additional data sources and receiving general comments on our project!