Geospatial techno-economic and life cycle assessment of renewable-powered direct air capture in Middle East and North Africa

Loiy Al-Ghussain; Mohamed G. Gado; Mohammad Alrbai; Sameer Al-Dahidi; Zifeng Lu

doi:10.1016/j.ccst.2026.100605

Geospatial techno-economic and life cycle assessment of renewable-powered direct air capture in Middle East and North Africa

Loiy Al-Ghussain^*
, Mohamed G. Gado
, Mohammad Alrbai
, Sameer Al-Dahidi
, Zifeng Lu

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Direct Air Capture (DAC) technologies powered by renewable energy are a promising approach for atmospheric carbon removal. This study presents a geospatial techno-economic and life cycle assessment of solar- and wind-powered electrified DAC systems across the Middle East and North Africa region. We evaluate how system sizing and regional resource conditions affect the cost and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity of CO₂ capture. Results show that optimal DAC-to-renewable capacity ratios and performance vary across locations, with levelized cost of CO₂ capture (LCOC) ranging from 200 to 650 USD/ton CO₂ and GHG emission intensity (EI) from 30 to 115 kgCO₂eq/ton CO₂. The study accounts for upstream emissions from renewable energy systems and highlights that DAC capital cost and PV efficiency are key performance drivers. Future projections suggest that LCOC could decline to 135-177 USD/ton CO₂ and EI to 30-47 kgCO₂eq/ton CO₂ by 2030, underscoring the potential of RES-DAC for cost-effective CO₂ removal in the region.

Original language	English
Article number	100605
Journal	Carbon Capture Science and Technology
Volume	19
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccst.2026.100605
State	Published - Jun 2026
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). This is an open access article under the CC BY license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
SDG 13 Climate Action

Keywords

DAC
Life cycle GHG emissions
PV system
Techno-economic feasibility
Wind system

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Chemical Engineering (miscellaneous)
Environmental Science (miscellaneous)
Energy (miscellaneous)

Access to Document

10.1016/j.ccst.2026.100605

Cite this

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title = "Geospatial techno-economic and life cycle assessment of renewable-powered direct air capture in Middle East and North Africa",

abstract = "Direct Air Capture (DAC) technologies powered by renewable energy are a promising approach for atmospheric carbon removal. This study presents a geospatial techno-economic and life cycle assessment of solar- and wind-powered electrified DAC systems across the Middle East and North Africa region. We evaluate how system sizing and regional resource conditions affect the cost and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity of CO2 capture. Results show that optimal DAC-to-renewable capacity ratios and performance vary across locations, with levelized cost of CO2 capture (LCOC) ranging from 200 to 650 USD/ton CO2 and GHG emission intensity (EI) from 30 to 115 kgCO2eq/ton CO2. The study accounts for upstream emissions from renewable energy systems and highlights that DAC capital cost and PV efficiency are key performance drivers. Future projections suggest that LCOC could decline to 135-177 USD/ton CO2 and EI to 30-47 kgCO2eq/ton CO2 by 2030, underscoring the potential of RES-DAC for cost-effective CO2 removal in the region.",

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author = "Loiy Al-Ghussain and Gado, \{Mohamed G.\} and Mohammad Alrbai and Sameer Al-Dahidi and Zifeng Lu",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). This is an open access article under the CC BY license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",

year = "2026",

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AU - Al-Ghussain, Loiy

AU - Gado, Mohamed G.

AU - Alrbai, Mohammad

AU - Al-Dahidi, Sameer

AU - Lu, Zifeng

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). This is an open access article under the CC BY license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

PY - 2026/6

Y1 - 2026/6

N2 - Direct Air Capture (DAC) technologies powered by renewable energy are a promising approach for atmospheric carbon removal. This study presents a geospatial techno-economic and life cycle assessment of solar- and wind-powered electrified DAC systems across the Middle East and North Africa region. We evaluate how system sizing and regional resource conditions affect the cost and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity of CO2 capture. Results show that optimal DAC-to-renewable capacity ratios and performance vary across locations, with levelized cost of CO2 capture (LCOC) ranging from 200 to 650 USD/ton CO2 and GHG emission intensity (EI) from 30 to 115 kgCO2eq/ton CO2. The study accounts for upstream emissions from renewable energy systems and highlights that DAC capital cost and PV efficiency are key performance drivers. Future projections suggest that LCOC could decline to 135-177 USD/ton CO2 and EI to 30-47 kgCO2eq/ton CO2 by 2030, underscoring the potential of RES-DAC for cost-effective CO2 removal in the region.

AB - Direct Air Capture (DAC) technologies powered by renewable energy are a promising approach for atmospheric carbon removal. This study presents a geospatial techno-economic and life cycle assessment of solar- and wind-powered electrified DAC systems across the Middle East and North Africa region. We evaluate how system sizing and regional resource conditions affect the cost and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity of CO2 capture. Results show that optimal DAC-to-renewable capacity ratios and performance vary across locations, with levelized cost of CO2 capture (LCOC) ranging from 200 to 650 USD/ton CO2 and GHG emission intensity (EI) from 30 to 115 kgCO2eq/ton CO2. The study accounts for upstream emissions from renewable energy systems and highlights that DAC capital cost and PV efficiency are key performance drivers. Future projections suggest that LCOC could decline to 135-177 USD/ton CO2 and EI to 30-47 kgCO2eq/ton CO2 by 2030, underscoring the potential of RES-DAC for cost-effective CO2 removal in the region.

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KW - Life cycle GHG emissions

KW - PV system

KW - Techno-economic feasibility

KW - Wind system

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M3 - Article

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VL - 19

JO - Carbon Capture Science and Technology

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ER -

Geospatial techno-economic and life cycle assessment of renewable-powered direct air capture in Middle East and North Africa

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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Cite this