The world’s largest plant for the destruction of carbon dioxide in the air has opened

The facility is managed by Swiss climate technology company Climeworks.

The DAC method, which Climeworks uses, uses compressor units that pump atmospheric air into a collector, where the CO2 contained in the air is absorbed by a special filter. Once the filter is saturated, the collector automatically closes and heats up to 100°C, releasing the collected CO2, which is then mixed with water and pumped into the rock, where it is gradually mineralized.

DAC is expected to be an effective way to combat climate change, although the scalability of this process is still in question.

Development of DAC began in 2009, when Climeworks was founded at ETH Zurich. Over the past couple of years, major companies like Microsoft, Stripe and Shopify have paid Climeworks upfront for future carbon removal services to help the nascent carbon-free industry. In addition to attracting corporate clients, Climeworks has received more than $780 million in development funds from a wide range of independent investors.

In 2017, Climeworks became the first company to capture CO2 from the air for distribution as a product used in carbonated drinks and greenhouses.

At the moment, the Mammoth enterprise operates 12 modular units, by the end of the year their number will increase to 72. When Mammoth reaches its planned capacity, it will be able to capture regarding 36 thousand tons of carbon dioxide per year. This impressive figure is actually relatively small, considering that Microsoft alone emitted regarding 13 million (!) tons of carbon dioxide in 2022.



Image source: Climeworks

Today, Mammoth is the largest existing facility of this type. But, compared to the global projects under development, it can only be considered a technology demonstrator.
Climate technology companies are receiving significant political and financial support in the United States, with $3.5 billion in federal funds dedicated to the development of at least four DAC businesses to date.

It is important to understand that Climeworks uses virtually free green geothermal energy and natural underground storage facilities in Hellisheidi for its operations in Iceland. This dramatically reduces costs and avoids the need to build a large network of pipelines to transport CO2.

The situation is very different in the US, where any plans to build DAC plants are being questioned due to concerns regarding high costs and pollution. The company will also have to face opposition to pipeline construction from nearby residents.