Climeworks

Climeworks AG is a Swiss climate-technology company focused on direct air capture and carbon dioxide removal. Its systems draw ambient air through modular collector units, where a solid material adsorbs carbon dioxide. Heat is then applied to release a concentrated CO2 stream, while the collector material is regenerated for repeated use. Climeworks combines this capture process with permanent geological storage through partners such as Carbfix, which injects CO2 into suitable basalt formations where it reacts with minerals and becomes solid carbonate. The company was founded in 2009 by mechanical engineers Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher after they developed direct-air-capture research during doctoral work at ETH Zurich. Climeworks began with laboratory research and modular prototypes, received its first outside investment in 2011, and demonstrated a working modular collector concept in 2014. Its early commercial activity included supplying captured CO2 to industrial and greenhouse customers, but the company later shifted its strategic emphasis toward durable, underground carbon removal rather than the sale and short-term reuse of captured gas. Climeworks has developed more than 15 plants and demonstration projects in Europe. Its first commercial direct-air-capture facility opened in Hinwil, Switzerland, in 2017. The plant used waste heat from a nearby waste-incineration facility and had a nominal capacity of approximately 900 tonnes of CO2 per year. Captured CO2 was used by a greenhouse operator and by Coca-Cola HBC in the production of Valser sparkling water. The Hinwil installation ceased operations in 2022 as Climeworks concentrated on permanent storage. The company’s best-known projects are in Iceland. The CarbFix2 demonstration at the Hellisheidi geothermal power area tested the combination of Climeworks’ air-capture equipment with Carbfix’s underground mineralization process. Orca, launched in 2021 near the same geothermal complex, was designed to capture up to 4,000 tonnes of CO2 annually and store it underground. In 2024, Climeworks launched Mammoth, a substantially larger facility at Hellisheidi with a stated design capacity of up to 36,000 tonnes per year. Mammoth uses Icelandic geothermal energy and sends captured CO2 for mineralization in basalt. Climeworks sells carbon-dioxide-removal services to businesses and individuals. Corporate customers and purchasers have included Stripe, Microsoft, Swiss Re, Boston Consulting Group, British Airways and Morgan Stanley, while thousands of individuals have subscribed to its removal service. The company has also worked with industrial, government and research partners, including Audi, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, Carbfix and DNV. Its activities include participation in European research projects involving carbon removal and synthetic fuels made from captured CO2. Climeworks has raised substantial private capital to develop and scale its technology, including reported funding rounds in 2018, 2020 and 2022. The 2022 equity financing was widely described as making Climeworks a climate-technology unicorn, although the company remains privately held. Its co-founders have served as co-chief executives, and the company has expanded its workforce and corporate presence beyond Switzerland, including a German subsidiary established in Cologne in 2019. Climeworks positions itself around measurable, durable carbon removal rather than conventional emissions avoidance or temporary offsetting. Its approach depends on access to low-carbon heat and electricity, suitable geological storage, verification, and continued improvements in collector efficiency and plant utilization. Independent observers have recognized the significance of its technology and its carbon-removal methodology, but the company also faces scrutiny over energy use, operating performance, cost, permanence claims and the gap between nominal plant capacity and realized capture volumes. A 2025 analysis of company data reported concerns that actual capture by 2023 was substantially below stated design expectations and may not yet have exceeded the emissions associated with operations.

Climeworks emerged from direct-air-capture research conducted by mechanical engineers Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher during their doctoral studies at ETH Zurich. They founded the company in 2009 as an ETH spin-off, seeking to move direct air capture from laboratory research toward modular industrial equipment. The company obtained its first external capital in 2011 and developed a modular collector architecture intended to allow capacity to be expanded by adding units rather than building a single monolithic machine. A working prototype and the underlying modular concept were presented in 2014. Climeworks’ early commercialization strategy included capturing CO2 for productive use. In 2017, it commissioned a commercial facility in Hinwil, Switzerland, on the roof of a waste-incineration plant. The installation used available waste heat and comprised 18 collector containers with a nominal annual capacity of about 900 tonnes. Its CO2 was supplied to a nearby greenhouse and to Coca-Cola HBC for use in Valser sparkling water. This project demonstrated that direct air capture could be integrated with existing industrial infrastructure, but the company eventually moved away from short-lived utilization markets. Hinwil stopped operating in October 2022 as Climeworks prioritized permanent geological storage. The company’s research and project development increasingly centered on direct air capture with carbon storage. In 2017, Climeworks participated in the CarbFix2 project at Iceland’s Hellisheidi power station. The project used Climeworks collectors to separate CO2 from ambient air and Carbfix’s process to dissolve and inject it into basalt. Chemical reactions in the rock convert the gas into stable carbonate minerals, creating a form of geological storage intended to be more durable than temporary industrial use. Iceland became the center of Climeworks’ large-scale strategy because its geothermal resources provide low-carbon energy and its basalt formations offer a storage medium. In September 2021, the company launched Orca near Hellisheidi. Orca was designed for up to 4,000 tonnes of CO2 capture per year and linked capture directly with Carbfix storage. It was presented as a major step from demonstration projects to commercial carbon-dioxide-removal infrastructure. Climeworks continued expanding its organization and international footprint. A German subsidiary, Climeworks Deutschland GmbH, opened in Cologne in 2019. By early 2023, the company reported an international workforce of more than 300 people. Its development was supported by private investors, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, industrial partners including Audi, and collaborations with research programs in Europe. The company also participated in work on potential synthetic-fuel pathways using captured CO2. Capital raising became a central part of the scale-up plan. Climeworks reported a $30.8 million financing round in 2018 and a further $110 million round in 2020. In April 2022, it secured a reported $650 million equity financing, one of the largest private financings then associated with the carbon-removal sector. The round was widely associated with a valuation above $1 billion, making Climeworks a climate-technology unicorn. The company remained privately held. In May 2024, Climeworks launched Mammoth at the Hellisheidi site. Designed for up to 36,000 tonnes of annual CO2 capture, Mammoth was substantially larger than Orca and represented the company’s second commercial direct-air-capture and storage facility. It uses geothermal energy and sends captured CO2 underground for mineralization in basalt through Carbfix. Climeworks has described its broader project portfolio as including more than 15 plants and projects in Europe. Alongside plant development, Climeworks built a commercial carbon-removal service for companies and individuals. Customers and purchasers have included Stripe, Microsoft, Swiss Re, Boston Consulting Group, British Airways and Morgan Stanley. The company has also worked with DNV on methodologies for direct-air-capture certification and with Carbfix on a methodology for capture combined with underground mineralization. Climeworks’ service has received favorable assessments from some carbon-removal observers, including a five-star rating in the CarbonPlan database, while the company has appeared on innovation and influential-company lists from Fast Company and Time. The company’s expansion has also attracted criticism. Direct air capture requires substantial energy and infrastructure, and performance depends on plant uptime, heat integration, storage availability and accurate measurement. In 2025, an analysis by Icelandic newspaper Heimildin of Climeworks’ published data argued that realized capture through 2023 was well below nominal capacity and that the company’s operational emissions may not yet have been fully counterbalanced. The dispute illustrates the wider challenge facing engineered carbon removal: stated design capacity is not the same as delivered removal, and buyers and regulators increasingly require transparent accounting of lifecycle emissions, permanence and performance.

• 2024

  Mammoth launches

  [1]Climeworksen.wikipedia.org

  Climeworks launches Mammoth in Iceland, designed to capture up to 36,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.

• 2022

  Large equity financing

  [1]Climeworksen.wikipedia.org

  Climeworks secures a reported $650 million equity round, supporting its scale-up strategy.

• 2022

  Hinwil operations end

  [1]Climeworksen.wikipedia.org

  The company stops operating the Hinwil facility while shifting its focus from CO2 utilization to permanent underground storage.

• 2021

  Orca launches in Iceland

  [1]Climeworksen.wikipedia.org

  Orca begins commercial direct-air-capture and storage operations with a stated capacity of up to 4,000 tonnes per year.

• 2019

  German subsidiary opens

  [1]Climeworksen.wikipedia.org

  Climeworks Deutschland GmbH is established in Cologne, expanding the company’s European presence.

• 2017

  Hinwil commercial plant opens

  [1]Climeworksen.wikipedia.org

  An 18-container installation at a Swiss waste-incineration facility begins capturing CO2 for greenhouse and beverage applications.

• 2017

  CarbFix2 demonstration begins

  [1]Climeworksen.wikipedia.org

  Climeworks combines direct air capture with Carbfix underground mineralization at Iceland’s Hellisheidi geothermal site.

• 2014

  Modular collector prototype demonstrated

  [1]Climeworksen.wikipedia.org

  Climeworks presents a working modular CO2 collector concept, marking progress from laboratory research toward industrial deployment.

• 2011

  First outside investment

  [1]Climeworksen.wikipedia.org

  The company receives its first investment capital to develop a modular direct-air-capture prototype.

• 2009

  Climeworks is founded

  [1]Climeworksen.wikipedia.org

  Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher establish Climeworks as an ETH Zurich spin-off to commercialize direct air capture.

A pioneer in engineered carbon removal, emphasizing direct air capture powered by low-carbon energy and permanent geological storage.

• Carbon-capture infrastructure · 2014

  Direct air capture plants

  Climeworks designs and operates modular systems that remove carbon dioxide directly from ambient air. The systems use adsorption and desorption: air passes over a collector material that selectively binds CO2, and low-carbon heat releases a concentrated stream for use or storage. The equipment is intended to be powered by renewable energy or energy recovered from waste, with plant performance depending on energy availability, operating conditions, collector regeneration and system utilization.

• Direct-air-capture and storage facility · 2021

  Orca

  Orca is Climeworks’ first large commercial direct-air-capture and storage facility. Located near Iceland’s Hellisheidi geothermal power station, it uses geothermal energy to operate modular collectors and is designed to capture up to 4,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. Captured gas is handled through Climeworks’ partnership with Carbfix and injected into basalt for mineralization and long-term geological storage.

• Direct-air-capture and storage facility · 2024

  Mammoth

  Mammoth is Climeworks’ larger Icelandic direct-air-capture and storage facility. Launched in 2024 at Hellisheidi, it is designed for a nominal capture capacity of up to 36,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. The project uses geothermal energy and sends captured CO2 for underground mineralization in basalt through Carbfix. Its scale is intended to support the company’s transition from demonstration projects toward industrial carbon removal.

• Carbon-dioxide-removal service

  Climeworks carbon removal service

  The service allows companies and individuals to pay for measured carbon-dioxide removal associated with Climeworks projects. Corporate purchasers have included technology, financial, consulting and airline companies. The service is positioned around durable removal and storage rather than avoided emissions, although its credibility depends on transparent accounting of capture volumes, energy use, transport, storage permanence and project-level emissions.

• Commercial direct-air-capture demonstration · 2017

  Hinwil plant

  The Hinwil plant in Switzerland was Climeworks’ first commercial direct-air-capture installation. Built on a waste-incineration facility, it used 18 modular collector containers and had a nominal capacity of approximately 900 tonnes of CO2 annually. Captured CO2 was sold to a greenhouse operator and Coca-Cola HBC for beverage production. The facility stopped operating in 2022 when Climeworks redirected its strategy toward permanent storage.

• 2024Mammoth scale-up

  Iceland · Global

  The Mammoth launch presented a larger generation of Climeworks’ direct-air-capture and storage infrastructure, with a stated design capacity several times higher than Orca.

  Outcome. Mammoth strengthened Climeworks’ position as one of the most visible companies attempting industrial-scale atmospheric carbon removal, while also increasing scrutiny of actual operating performance.

  Source
• 2021Orca launch and carbon-removal commercialization

  Iceland · Europe · Global corporate market

  Climeworks used the launch of Orca to promote direct air capture combined with permanent geological storage as a commercial carbon-removal product.

  Outcome. Orca became the company’s best-known early large-scale commercial facility and a reference project for buyers of durable carbon removal.

  Source

• 2024

  Launch of MammothProduct launch

  Background

  After Orca, Climeworks sought to increase plant scale and demonstrate that direct air capture and storage could move toward industrial deployment.

  Action taken

  Climeworks launched Mammoth at Hellisheidi with a stated design capacity of up to 36,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

  Aftermath

  Mammoth became the company’s largest facility, although independent observers continued to distinguish nominal capacity from achieved capture and verified net removal.

  Source

• 2022

  Shift from CO2 utilization toward permanent storageStrategy

  Background

  Climeworks’ early Hinwil operation sold captured CO2 for greenhouse and beverage applications, but these uses do not necessarily keep the gas out of the atmosphere permanently.

  Action taken

  The company ended Hinwil operations and concentrated its commercial strategy on direct air capture linked to underground mineralization and permanent carbon removal.

  Aftermath

  The shift made Orca and Mammoth central to the company’s offering and aligned its positioning with durable carbon-dioxide removal rather than short-term CO2 utilization.

  Source

• 2022.02.14

  Reported2022.02.14

  Climeworks announces carbon removal agreements with three customers[3]Climeworks 宣布与三家客户签订碳移除协议cleantechnica.com

  Climeworks announced carbon removal agreements with Boston Consulting Group, LGT, and Rothesay. The article says LGT and Boston Consulting Group signed 10-year air-capture agreements, and Rothesay also signed a carbon removal agreement.

Read more

1. 1Climeworksen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Climeworks official websiteclimeworks.com
3. 3Climeworks 宣布与三家客户签订碳移除协议cleantechnica.com