The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $12 million (£7.8m) in funding for six projects that aim to capture carbon dioxide from the air.

The projects are being developed to increase the amount of carbon dioxide captured by direct air capture (DAC) technology, cut the cost of materials and further increase the energy efficiency of carbon removal operations.

The beneficiary projects are housed at universities and laboratories in Arizona, North Carolina, Illinois and Kansas.

Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said: “These DOE investments, and the ones we will make with President Biden’s American Jobs Plan, are crucial to advancing technology that will help us avoid the worst effects of climate change and achieve carbon-neutrality by 2050.”