About this episode

Vikrum Aiyer discusses the challenges and strategies in securing funding for direct air capture projects in the US.

In this episode of The CDR Policy Scoop, Sebastian Manhart sits down solo with Vikrum Aiyer, Head of Global Energy and Policy and Climate Policy and External Affairs at Heirloom, to trace the last eighteen months of US carbon removal policy. It starts with a survival story: Heirloom and partner Climeworks were awarded roughly 600 million dollars for a Louisiana direct air capture hub under the bipartisan infrastructure law, funding that looked shaky the moment the Trump administration began reviewing Biden era spending. Vikrum explains how a coalition of economic development groups, workforce organizations, and elected officials kept the project alive by leading with jobs, exports, and energy security rather than climate targets. The conversation turns to 45Q, the tax credit that pays up to 180 dollars per ton for durable removal. Vikrum details how a shift in EPA greenhouse gas reporting policy left the credit's verification framework in a temporary gap, with a Treasury safe harbor expiring and a new reporting structure still being negotiated alongside the Carbon Capture Coalition and industry peers. He credits the One Big Beautiful Bill Act with not just protecting 45Q but…

People in this episode

Hosts: Eve Tamme, Sebastian Manhart

Guest: Vikrum Aiyer

Topics covered

• carbon removal policy
• direct air capture
• climate policy
• energy security
• tax credits
• decarbonization technologies

Keywords

• carbon removal
• DAC
• 45Q tax credit
• climate policy
• energy security
• Heirloom
• Climeworks
• California cap and trade

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Heirloom, Climeworks, EPA, Carbon Capture Coalition, One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Places: California, Louisiana

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