Direct air capture enables sustainable hydrocarbon production in water-scarce regions

Methanol is an essential chemical for the global economy, but its production typically requires substantial water inputs. Here we investigate the techno-economic potential of water-conscious methanol production across more than 20,000 regions worldwide by integrating direct air capture (DAC) with electrolysis, methanol synthesis and a renewable energy supply system. In 97% of these regions, water availability from ambient air is sufficient, and constraints in the remaining regions can be mitigated through adjusted system design and operation. Our results further highlight the importance of modeling DAC’s weather dependency, as system energy efficiency fluctuates between 39 to 49%, primarily due to variations in DAC energy demand. Air cooling – often overlooked in prior assessments – is identified as a viable strategy for water-conscious cooling, incurring only minor cost increases. Ultimately, the proposed system enables sustainable hydrocarbon production in arid regions worldwide by overcoming the water-energy nexus and sourcing all necessary feedstocks directly from ambient air.