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    Climeworks

    Also known as Climeworks AG

    Climeworks is a Zurich-based company that grew out of ETH Zurich and builds direct air capture plants, including Orca and Mammoth in Iceland, the largest operating plant of its kind.[1][2][3] Mammoth has run far below its 36,000-tonne nameplate, but in September 2026 Climeworks reported net removal up more than fivefold and operating costs per tonne cut by more than half.[4][5]

    Editor reviewedUpdated Climate science and carbon removalEnergy and climate
    Key facts

    Overview

    Climeworks develops direct-air-capture technology that captures CO2 from ambient air using a proprietary sorbent filter material.[5] The company began as a laboratory project at ETH Zurich, built the first commercial direct air capture plant in Switzerland, and then built Orca and Mammoth in Iceland.[1]

    Mammoth

    Mammoth, at Hellisheiði in Iceland, started operating on 8 May 2024 with 12 of its 72 collector containers installed. It is designed for up to 36,000 tonnes of CO2 a year, about ten times Orca, with the CO2 stored permanently underground.[2] The State of CDR report found both Orca and Mammoth still operating below full capacity in 2025, when all direct air capture worldwide removed about 0.0015 million tonnes.[6]

    2026 performance update

    On 10 September 2026 Climeworks said upgrades to its sorbent and plant design had more than doubled capture in upgraded collector containers, and that operating costs per tonne had fallen by more than 50%.[5] Two upgraded containers now reach the design run rate of 1.37 tonnes of CO2 per day, at a capacity factor of about 40–50%.[7] Net removal, the tonnes delivered to customers after accounting for downtime and process emissions, reached 675 tonnes in the first half of 2026 against 119 tonnes a year earlier.[4]

    The company also reports a tenfold improvement in sorbent lifetime in the lab and a fourfold improvement in process density for its next-generation technology; these figures have not been independently verified.[8]

    Goals and context

    In 2024 Climeworks framed Mammoth as a step toward megaton-scale capacity by 2030 and gigaton scale by 2050.[9] Climeworks is part of Project Cypress, one of the two large US DAC hubs, whose federal funding was reported preserved in April 2026.[10] Its business depends on buyers of durable removal, a market in which Microsoft held 78.5% of disclosed tonnes as of April 2026.[11]

    Questions readers ask

    How much CO2 does Mammoth actually remove?

    Mammoth produced 675 tonnes of net removal in the first half of 2026, up from 119 tonnes a year earlier, against a nameplate capacity of up to 36,000 tonnes a year.[4][2]

    Why is Mammoth below capacity?

    Climeworks says it spent 18 months prioritising performance and cost upgrades over output; upgraded collector containers now reach their design run rate of 1.37 tonnes per day.[7][5]

    What is Climeworks' long-term goal?

    In 2024 the company described Mammoth as a step toward megaton-scale capacity by 2030 and gigaton scale by 2050.[9]

    Sources

    Each numbered claim is a statement we checked against the sources listed with it. Status shows how well established it is.

    1. [1]

      Climeworks, headquartered in Zurich, began as a laboratory project at ETH Zurich, built the first commercial direct air capture plant in Switzerland, and then built Orca and Mammoth in Iceland. confirmedas of 2026-09-10

    2. [2]

      Climeworks' Mammoth plant at Hellisheiði, Iceland started operations on 8 May 2024, with 12 of its 72 collector containers installed, and has a nameplate capacity of up to 36,000 tonnes of CO2 a year, about ten times its predecessor Orca. confirmedas of 2024-05-08

    3. [3]

      In May 2026 Occidental said STRATOS, first planned to operate by the end of 2024, had hit an unexpected delay from component issues after its core process units performed as expected in testing. E&E News noted the plant is designed for 500,000 tonnes a year, against 36,000 tonnes for the largest DAC plant then operating. confirmedas of 2026-05-07

    4. [4]

      Mammoth produced 675 tonnes of net CO2 removal in the first half of 2026, compared with 119 tonnes in the first half of 2025. confirmedas of 2026-09-10

    5. [5]

      On 10 September 2026 Climeworks said sorbent and plant upgrades had more than doubled CO2 capture in upgraded collector containers at Mammoth and cut operating costs per tonne by more than 50%. confirmedas of 2026-09-10

    6. [6]

      Direct air capture with storage removed about 0.0015 million tonnes (roughly 1,500 tonnes) of CO2 in 2025, with Climeworks' Orca and Mammoth both still running below full capacity. confirmedas of 2026-06-01

    7. [7]

      Climeworks says its priority at Mammoth over the past 18 months was improving performance, reliability and cost rather than maximising production, and that its two upgraded collector containers now reach the design run rate of 1.37 tonnes of CO2 per day and a capacity factor of around 40–50%. confirmedas of 2026-09-10

    8. [8]

      Climeworks says its next-generation programme has shown a tenfold improvement in sorbent lifetime in the lab and a fourfold improvement in process densification. reportedas of 2026-09-10

    9. [9]

      In 2024 Climeworks described Mammoth as a step toward megaton-scale removal capacity by 2030 and gigaton scale by 2050. confirmedas of 2024-05-08

    10. [10]

      In April 2026 Carbon Herald reported that the US Department of Energy had kept funding for the two large DAC hubs, Project Cypress in Louisiana (a Heirloom, Climeworks and Battelle partnership) and the South Texas DAC Hub (1PointFive/Occidental), after earlier signals they could be cancelled. reportedas of 2026-04-17

    11. [11]

      Microsoft accounted for 78.5% of all disclosed durable carbon removal tonnes purchased as of April 2026, according to CDR.fyi. confirmedas of 2026-06-12

    12. [12]

      Frontier is an advance market commitment that aims to accelerate carbon removal technologies by guaranteeing future demand for them. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    Revision history (1)
    1. Page created.

    Created Oct 10, 2026. Last reviewed by an editor on Oct 10, 2026. Next scheduled review: Jan 10, 2027.

    Cite this page

    "Climeworks." ContentLora, updated Oct 10, 2026. https://contentlora.com/wiki/climeworks

    Spotted an error? Suggest a correction or emailcorrections@contentlora.com.

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