# Carbon Dioxide Removal: State of the Field (October 2026)

Research dossier · v1 · updated 2026-10-30 · 3,597 words · 47 sources · 28 claims · verification: verified

This dossier surveys carbon dioxide removal as of October 2026, covering direct air capture sorbents and their energy and cost constraints, enhanced rock weathering, ocean alkalinity enhancement, and monitoring, reporting and verification. The most important takeaway is that durable removal at scale depends on low-carbon energy and on measurement methods that can separate removed carbon from natural background variability, and that most field-scale evidence is still early.

## Contents

- Executive summary
- Background and core concepts
- Timeline of key milestones
- State of the art
  - Direct air capture: sorbents, solvents and regeneration
  - Energy, cost and life-cycle evidence for DAC
  - Enhanced rock weathering on land
  - Ocean alkalinity enhancement and marine ERW
  - Monitoring, reporting and verification
  - Quantitative benchmarks
- Open problems and active debates
- Major programs and players
- Outlook: what to watch
- Key papers
- Glossary

## Sample findings

- Conventional DAC processes require 230 to 800 kJ of thermal energy per mole of CO2 for regeneration.
- Converted to thermal energy per tonne of CO2, the 230 to 800 kJ per mole range is roughly 1.5 to 5 MWh.

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