Societal and economic synergies of AI and durable carbon removal technology

The rise of AI infrastructure and power demand 

The surge in AI growth is driving an unprecedented expansion of data center infrastructure across North America. Data centers are notoriously energy-intensive, consuming up to 50x the energy per floor space compared to a typical commercial building, and reliant on natural gas as a stable source of power. Now, hundreds of billions are being invested into developing new facilities, such as Meta’s new data center complex in Louisiana. Analysts forecast a 160% increase in power demand by 2030 from these data centers, using 8% of total U.S. power by 2030, compared to 3% in 2022.  This rapid evolution demands an expanded scale of carbon management, presenting a timely opportunity to use innovative carbon removal technologies such as direct air capture. 

A scalable solution for AI's carbon footprint 

The scalability and permanency of carbon removal by DAC, combined with attractive co-benefits such as waste heat utilization, offers a promising path to address the ballooning carbon footprint of AI. Increasingly, industry bodies and regulators such as the Oxford Principles are emphasizing the need for durable carbon removal, in addition to nature-based solutions, for industrial processes such as data center operations.  

The modular design of DAC allows it to easily expand alongside data center operations. Looking ahead, with ongoing advancements in technology, costs are projected to fall from the high hundreds to closer to $250/ton by the mid-2030s, making DAC a realistic and practical solution to invest in today. By capturing and permanently storing CO₂, DAC provides a durable and measurable solution for mitigating emissions, in addition to carbon solutions used today. 

Driving economic growth with data center innovation 

Integrating direct air capture (DAC) into data center operations creates a dual advantage, by simultaneously boosting economic resilience through job creation and demonstrating industrial leadership in building sustainable infrastructure. Carbon removal projects such as DAC have the potential to create over 130K jobs in the U.S. alone, across varied professions and locations, according to recent analysis. Projects to build DAC operations at data center sites would foster beneficial partnerships between companies developing new data centers and those focused on carbon removal solutions. Engineers at both types of companies already have much in common—particularly, a drive to improve society by solving large-scale problems. Cross-sector collaboration is a proven driver of innovation and societal benefit. For example, the open-source software community was a collaboration across individual developers, companies like IBM and Red Hat, and academic institutions, and led to the creation of widely used software like Linux and Python, contributing significantly to the growth of the digital economy. Similarly, partnerships between data center designers and DAC developers can unlock economic growth along with new innovations for sustainable AI infrastructure. 

Energy optimization opportunities within a data center & DAC system 

Data centers produce high amounts of waste heat, and all DAC processes use heat to varying degrees. This has potential for synergies in energy optimization between the two technologies, which hasn’t been established yet due to early-stage DAC’s precise heat requirements. 
 
Now, two trends reveal a promising path to eventually realize this energy optimization. First, the hyperscale of AI data centers is generating significantly more waste heat and at higher temperatures than ever before. Secondly, DAC developers such as Climeworks are aiming to advance DAC technology to use wider ranges of heat, which would open doors to opportunities for economical use of waste heat at industrial sites. 
 
To make this a reality by the mid-2030s, AI data center developers and DAC developers need to start jointly researching and developing solutions today. With over $150M invested in R&D and a uniquely low temperature process, Climeworks is well-positioned to work with hyperscalers and companies along the data center supply chain to develop real solutions for cost-effective energy systems. 

Joint power procurement for cleaner American grids 

Both data center developers and DAC companies share a vested interest in expanding access to clean energy grids. While fossil fuels power data center operations today, developers are actively pursuing strategies to integrate more clean power. This aligns perfectly with DAC's need for abundant clean energy sources. By joining forces, data center and DAC developers can become powerful partners in accelerating the transition towards a cleaner American grid. 

This collaboration can take various forms. For instance, a partnership between Climeworks and a company building data center facilities in the Gulf Coast region could involve joint procurement of solar energy, advocating for the development of nuclear power with state utilities, or supporting the expansion of transmission interconnects to bring wind power from regions like Texas and Oklahoma. By working together, tech companies and carbon removal companies can procure clean power that benefits their respective operations and contributes to a broader shift towards a cleaner, more resilient energy future for the United States. 

Conclusion 

The convergence of rapid AI growth and durable carbon removal technologies is an exciting opportunity for U.S. leadership in sustainable infrastructure. By embracing collaboration between AI tech and carbon removal companies, we can unlock significant economic and societal benefits while accelerating technological advances for both industries.