Manufacturable DAC Modules Gain Ground, CCS Hubs Enter Construction
The gist
Carbon capture is shifting from pilot credibility to buildout economics, with modular capture hardware and CCS hubs now competing on manufacturability, permitting, and execution speed.
This week’s developments
Capture Competition Shifts Toward Manufacturable Modules
NGK’s honeycomb ceramic structure is now operating at Avnos’s Project Brighton in Bridgewater, New Jersey, where Avnos cites up to about 450 tonnes per year of CO2 capture capacity. That moves ceramic direct air capture from lab validation into fielded equipment. The same pattern appeared elsewhere this week: NGK advanced a ceramic DAC demonstration with Aircapture at AIZAWA Concrete’s Fukushima facility, and Corning and Aircapture’s Project Hajar in the UAE reached operational status in 17 days with eight modular DAC units.
In parallel, single-crystal COF membranes posted a record roughly 74,800 Barrer CO2 permeability while maintaining about 20 CO2/N2 selectivity in simulated flue-gas testing. The strategic shift is clear: capture is becoming more manufacturable, modular, and faster to deploy, not just more dependent on transport and storage buildout. Ceramic systems point to repeatable hardware that can be installed across sites with lower integration friction, while the COF result signals a new performance frontier in engineered separations.
For operators, this expands phased capacity options. For vendors and investors, value is moving toward proprietary materials, module design, and proof of repeatable field performance at commercial deployment speed.
Where should we invest or partner as modular capture scales?
If you operate in this industry
- Modular capture is moving from pilot novelty to deployable capacity.
- Plan for phased rollouts with repeatable modules; field-proven hardware may beat bespoke systems on speed and integration risk.
Sources
- Electrochemically mediated carbon capture using a membraneless architecture — Nature, September 8, 2026
Shows how solid-state counter-electrodes improve durability, reduce self-discharge, and lower capture cost versus membrane systems.
- How Much of Its Trading Stack Should a Retail Broker Own? — Finance Magnates, October 2, 2026
Framework for owning commodity infrastructure while buying mature platforms and limiting vendor lock-in.
- Mantel Capture demonstrates its novel carbon capture technology at commercial scale — MIT Energy Initiative, August 25, 2026
Shows how a durable molten-salt capture system is being deployed at industrial scale across heavy-emitting sectors.
If you sell into this industry
- Materials and modules are where capture budgets are shifting now.
- Prioritize manufacturable hardware, not just lab metrics; buyers will pay for repeatable field performance and fast install cycles.
Sources
- New device captures carbon dioxide by pumping it across a battery — Ars Technica - Science, September 28, 2026
Shows how electrochemical CO2 capture could scale like batteries, with pilot costs and long-run cost targets.
If you invest in this industry
- Capture value is shifting toward scalable hardware, not just storage links.
- Back teams with proprietary materials and module manufacturing; field deployment speed is now a key proof point for winners.
Sources
- Carbon Capture Goes Electric — IEEE Spectrum, August 19, 2026
Explains how electric heating methods could improve DAC economics, while highlighting durability and commercialization risks.
Origins and Eni Push CCS Hubs Into Construction
Origins CCS Hub has moved from secured capacity to physical execution: it has confirmed 1.5 million tonnes per year of initial storage, with construction set for September 2026 and operations targeted for January 2027. The step into buildout followed detailed engineering for the CO₂ pipeline and related facilities, plus Alberta Energy Regulator approval in 2025.
Eni’s Douglas CCS platform has also been installed offshore in Liverpool Bay as the hub for the Liverpool Bay CCS transport-and-storage system, taking CO₂ from onshore capture sites into depleted reservoirs. Alongside Northern Lights’ 1.5 Mtpa phase 1 and Greensand’s initial 400,000 tpa design with expansion potential, these projects show the same pattern: after the storage-access gains already visible last week, the next constraint is execution. Once engineering, permitting, and network connectivity are in place, transport-and-storage hubs start to behave less like one-off CCS projects and more like infrastructure programs. That shifts value further toward developers and vendors that can reuse pipelines, offshore assets, and existing oil-and-gas infrastructure to compress schedule risk and lower unit costs.
Where will execution advantages and value accrue next?
If you operate in this industry
- CCS hubs are turning into infrastructure races, not project wins.
- Secure pipeline, storage, and network access early or get boxed out by hub operators with reusable assets and faster schedules.
If you sell into this industry
- Execution budgets are shifting to buildout, integration, and reuse.
- Sell around EPC, offshore retrofit, and pipeline integration; generic CCS concepts will lose to vendors tied to proven infrastructure.
If you invest in this industry
- CCS value is moving from access rights to execution and reuse.
- Favor hub developers with permits, engineering, and asset reuse; pure storage plays look less differentiated as buildout starts.
Sources
- Northleaf Capital Partners on a new blueprint for infrastructure — Infrastructure Investor, September 1, 2026
Shows how active ownership, de-risking, and secondaries shape returns in mid-market infrastructure.
- Alternatives Access: Capturing the Private Infrastructure Supercycle | J.P. Morgan Private Bank U.S. — J.P. Morgan Private Bank, September 6, 2026
Explains infrastructure returns, contract structures, and why development-stage assets can offer higher upside.
- Why Barings Is Choosing Infrastructure Over Private Equity — Institutional Investor Knowledge Center, September 24, 2026
Explains investor demand for infrastructure, downside protection, and funding trends shaping CCS and other asset-heavy sectors.