Climeworks builds and operates direct air capture (DAC) technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The company is focused on scaling its advanced DAC systems to reduce carbon removal costs and expand carbon removal offerings. Recent plant progress includes Orca, which validated the company’s approach, and Mammoth, which enables large-scale testing of new technologies. Technical improvements reported include doubled energy efficiency, increased throughput, and longer lifespan of filter materials. Climeworks says it has over 6 million tons of secured supply in its global portfolio and is positioning its hybrid model to build long-term demand while generating cash flow today. The company has surpassed $1 billion in total funding and is using new capital to push innovation and lower costs for profitable DAC plants. Climeworks develops and operates direct air capture (DAC) technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Since its foundation in 2009 it has pioneered the field and launched the world’s largest direct air capture and storage plant in September 2021. Today the company signed an equity round of CHF 600 million (USD 650 million) that will fund the next phase of growth. The financing is intended to scale direct air capture up to multi‑million‑ton capacity and to implement large‑scale facilities as carbon removal becomes a trillion‑dollar market. The new investor base includes several renowned institutional technology and infrastructure investors globally and is co‑led by Partners Group (acting on behalf of its clients) and GIC, with participation from Baillie Gifford, Carbon Removal Partners, Global Founders Capital, John Doerr, M&G, Swiss Re, and other new and existing shareholders including anchor investor BigPoint Holding AG. Climeworks’ leadership said the round demonstrates strong investor appetite to accelerate deployment of carbon removal solutions in line with recent IPCC findings that carbon removal is essential to limit warming to 1.5°C. Climeworks developed and patented a direct air capture technology that removes carbon dioxide directly from the air using clean, renewable energy. The captured CO₂ can be reused in synthetic fuels, greenhouse agriculture, and carbonated beverages or permanently stored underground in volcanic rock via a mineralization process with Carbfix. The company has built multiple direct air capture plants in Europe and says it plans to rapidly increase capacity toward removing billions of tons of CO₂. Microsoft, through its Climate Innovation Fund, will provide funding for Climeworks’ first-of-a-kind commercial-scale, fully renewable carbon capture and mineralization plant in Iceland (Orca). Orca is designed to capture 4,000 tons of CO₂ per year and combines Climeworks’ DAC technology with Carbfix underground storage at a larger scale; it is described as the world’s biggest climate-positive facility to date. Microsoft will also become a customer, purchasing negative emissions from Climeworks to permanently remove 1,400 metric tons of CO₂; the plant was expected to be in operation in late spring 2021. Climeworks, founded by engineers Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher, builds patented direct air capture (DAC) systems that remove CO2 directly from ambient air using clean, renewable energy. The company serves established businesses and organizations worldwide and has a growing community of individual customers pursuing climate action. Climeworks positions its solution as a genuinely pure carbon dioxide removal offering and says it will use the latest investment to improve its technology. The company plans to implement the next steps of its scale-up roadmap rapidly following the fundraise. Climeworks’ stated mission is to inspire one billion people to act now and remove carbon dioxide from the air. As of August 2020 the company completed a funding round that increased total equity from CHF 73M to CHF 100M (USD 110M). Climeworks builds modular, scalable direct air capture (DAC) plants that capture atmospheric CO2 using a filter and mainly low-grade heat. The captured pure CO2 is sold to customers across commercial agriculture, food and beverage, energy and automotive sectors, and is also sequestered for permanent removal. The company has built nine DAC plants across six countries, including the world’s first commercial DAC plant in Hinwil (May 2017) and a plant paired with underground sequestration in Iceland (opened November prior). Co-founded by Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher, Climeworks employs about 60 people in Zurich. The company plans to further industrialize its technology, prepare for mass production, expand its presence in pioneering markets, and strengthen its position within the direct air capture industry. The recent equity funding is intended to accelerate these efforts and expand development and commercial deployment capabilities.

Total raised

$951M

Funding rounds

5

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Jul 2025