Safe
The carbon dioxide is safely stored by, for example, turning it into stone through natural processes.
What is Direct Air Capture?
Our Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology is one of the key technological solutions to fight the climate crisis. It captures CO₂ directly from the air, reducing the atmospheric concentration of CO₂ by only using renewable energy, energy-from-waste, or other waste heat as energy sources, offering a promising solution to mitigate the impacts of greenhouse gases.
How does DAC work?
DAC systems operate on a relatively simple principle. Our DAC technology employs a three-step process:
Air is drawn in through a fan located inside the collector. Once sucked in from ambient air, it passes through a filter located inside the collector which traps the carbon dioxide particles.
When the filter is completely full of CO₂, the collector closes, and the temperature rises to about 100°C — about the same temperature it takes to boil water for a cup of tea!
This causes the filter to release the CO₂ so we can finally collect it.
The CO₂ can then be safely and permanently stored underground by our storage partners — Carbfix in Iceland.
Why do we need Direct Air Capture?
DAC is key to mitigating global warming. The IPCC estimates that by mid-century, we will need to remove 3-12 gigatons of CO₂ from the air every year to maximize our chances of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Direct Air Capture and Storage (DAC+S) is expected to contribute a significant part, with the potential of removing up to 310 gigatons of CO₂ by 2100. This demands the technology’s fast and drastic scale-up.
However, one measure alone will not be sufficient to mitigate global warming, we need all solutions to work together. We must both drastically reduce emissions and remove legacy CO₂ emissions from the air. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) recognizes this in its net zero standard for companies: an economy-wide emissions reduction of at least 90% by 2050 is required and the remaining 10% must be neutralized by carbon removal solutions to reach net zero (see here).
DAC+S represents a permanent carbon removal solution and offers a powerful tool to achieve this goal.
Addressing historical emissions: DAC can help mitigate the impact of past emissions.
Complementing other climate solutions: DAC can work in conjunction with other climate mitigation strategies, such as renewable energy and energy efficiency, to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Negative emissions: By removing more CO₂ from the atmosphere than is emitted, DAC can contribute to negative emissions, helping to reverse the trend of rising atmospheric CO₂ concentrations.
Pioneering customers (both individuals as well as businesses) play a major role in creating a market for high-quality removal by showing there is long-term demand. Paying higher prices and showing long-term commitment now is crucial to enable the scale-up of the technology. This is important since high-quality carbon removal is scarce and becoming a customer now enables getting access to it.
The benefits of Direct Air Capture
Each solution, whether natural or technology-based, has its benefits. That's why it's essential that every approach works in synergy with all others if climate targets are to be achieved. Here are the benefits of direct air capture:
Scalable
Modular plant design, low-temperature heat, and minimal land footprint make it highly scalable.
Permanent
It goes further than compensation: removing CO₂ emissions from the air, forever.
Measurable
You can see the exact amount of CO₂ we'll remove in your name on your personal dashboard.
Efficient
With minimal land and water usage, this is one of the most efficient carbon dioxide removal approaches.
Natural
The removed CO₂ goes through rapid mineralization to become stone: a safe and natural process.
The future of Direct Air Capture
As climate change continues to accelerate, DAC is becoming increasingly important. By investing in research and development, scaling up deployment, and implementing supportive policies, we can harness the power of DAC to mitigate climate change and secure a sustainable future. It represents a significant technological advancement in the fight against the climate crisis. By addressing the challenge of removing CO₂ from the atmosphere, DAC can play a vital role in achieving global climate goals. As the technology continues to mature and costs decline, DAC is poised to become a critical component of a comprehensive climate solution.
Hear from the experts:
Do you still have open questions? Learn more about our technology:
The energy usage:
We're committed to driving down energy consumption as much as possible. We only use renewable energy, energy-from-waste, or other waste heat to power our plants.
The difference with offsetting:
Traditional carbon offsets are typically a trade of avoided emissions through certified emission reduction projects that absorb or avoid CO₂. It can lead to reductions, but not to the zero and negative emissions that we need to deliver to keep global warming under control. In contrast, our CO₂ removal service physically removes carbon dioxide from the air, locking it away by permanently storing it for thousands of years. It's therefore radically different from trading avoided emissions.
The plants' carbon footprint:
We have performed multiple Life Cycle Analyses (LCAs) on our technology with independent partners (e.g. this most recent study by the university RWTH Aachen). They confirm that over its whole lifespan (including construction, operations, and recycling), a typical Climeworks plant re-emits less than 10% of the CO₂ it captures with the use of low-carbon electricity. Our goal is to reduce them to 4%.
Do Climeworks’ Direct Air Capture machines operate better at higher levels of CO₂ in the air?
Our plants are optimized to work with a concentration of 0.04% or less CO₂ in the air.
The CO₂ level in the atmosphere is homogenous across the world (0.04%) since the diffusion and mixing of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere happens very fast. Climeworks plants can thus be built nearly anywhere and run efficiently. However, local climate and weather conditions, as well as altitude have a certain effect on the performance characteristics.
What is the scale-up potential of Direct Air Capture?
The scale-up potential is huge. In order to maximize our chances of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, Direct Air Capture and Storage (DAC+S) needs to remove up to 310 gigatons of CO₂ by 2100 (source). A scientific life cycle assessment that was published by the RWTH Aachen University in 2021 confirms DAC can play a major role in mitigating climate change. The study clearly states that both the resources and energy required for climate-relevant scales are available - confirming the technology is able to remove billions of tons of carbon from the air per year (source here).
Why do you only remove CO₂ and no other greenhouse gases that are also harmful?
We focus our efforts on carbon dioxide (CO₂) because this warming gas is by far the largest contributor to global warming: it is estimated that CO₂ is responsible for 66% of the warming effect on the climate (see here). Removing other gases, such as methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), or fluorinated gases would require a fundamentally different technology partially because their concentrations are much lower than the concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere.
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