One of the goals is to close the carbon loop (not the energy loop). Quoting from the paper: > An industrial process for large-scale capture of atmospheric CO2

One of the goals is to close the carbon loop (not the energy loop). Quoting from the paper: > An industrial process for large-scale capture of atmospheric CO2 (DAC) serves two roles. First, as a source of CO2 for making carbon-neutral hydrocarbon fuels, enabling carbon-free energy to be converted into high-energy-density fuels. Solar fuels, for example, may be produced at high-insolation low-cost locations from DAC-CO2 and electrolytic hydrogen using gas-to-liquids technology enabling decarbonization of difficult-to-electrify sectors such as aviation. And second, DAC with CO2 sequestration allows carbon removal. So, to summarize their first role, they would produce hydrogen from water, combine it with CO2 extracted from the atmosphere, and then burn it. Thus no net carbon added to the atmosphere. Essentially, instead of moving carbon from fossil fuels to the atmosphere, you would borrow carbon from the atmosphere, turn it into fuels, burn it, and return it to where you borrowed it from.