U.S.: Climeworks is ready to contribute to the American DAC ecosystem

The company has 100,000 hours of operational field experience gained in Europe and is already engaged in test and research projects in the U.S. in collaboration with the Department of Energy (DOE) and local partners

The Cofounders of Climeworks: Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher
The Cofounders of Climeworks: Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher

“The U.S. will play a vital role in the race against global warming, including by creating important opportunities to develop DAC technologies. We are now capitalizing on our existing partnerships and projects in the U.S. to enable the next stage of DAC development. With its unique operating experience and technology, Climeworks is ready to play a strong role in growing and establishing the DAC industry in the U.S. with skilled local partners and within a dynamic ecosystem”, says Christoph Gebald, co-founder and co-CEO of Climeworks.

Our common objectives with the U.S.

The U.S. has recently enacted unprecedented policies to support vital infrastructure and technologies for the transition to a low-carbon economy. In doing so, the country recognized the need to address the causes of climate change with a portfolio of solutions, including direct air capture (DAC), and to put economic and social benefits for local communities at the center of its action.

This development aligns with our core goal of gigaton-scale carbon dioxide removal. As such, the time is right to further contribute our expertise in DAC to the U.S., an ecosystem with robust and forward momentum in DAC, a skilled talent pool, and an experienced network of companies and civil society stakeholders in relevant fields.

Climeworks is already partnering with American businesses with ambitious climate goals, such as StripeMicrosoftBCG, and Square. Building on over 100,000 hours of operational field experience gained in Europe, we have recently announced an equity round of 650 USD million (April 2022 – 600 CHF million) and the groundbreaking of our second commercial direct air capture and storage facility in Iceland. Climeworks is already engaged in test and research projects in the U.S. in collaboration with the Department of Energy (DOE) and local partners.

It is, therefore, a natural next step for Climeworks to contribute to the U.S. action plan and the American economy on the journey to reach the country’s ambitious climate targets. This will be instrumental in continuing the scale-up of the DAC industry, with Climeworks embracing its leadership role in the U.S. and global ecosystem.

“The U.S. has all the key elements to be a global leader in catalyzing the scale-up of DAC technology, from infrastructure to industrial capacity, academic excellence, a highly-skilled workforce, and broad political support. Climeworks is already partnering with some key actors of the dynamic industrial landscape of the U.S., and we look forward to working closely with the local communities that drive the American economy”, says Jan Wurzbacher, co-founder and co-CEO of Climeworks.

Looking toward the future

Our vision is to inspire 1 billion people to remove CO₂ from the air. Our plan is to increase permanent removal capacity to a megaton scale by 2030 and a gigaton scale by 2050. On this roadmap, we recognize the recent developments in the U.S. as a strong signal sent to the world and all stakeholders: bringing together infrastructure and large-scale funding.

We are determined to leverage local expertise in combination with our decade-long experience in DAC. To do so, we invite talents, experts, and potential partners for future projects to reach out. The 200+ Climeworkers united behind the vision are looking forward to working closely with local communities to develop DAC in the U.S. Climeworks is committed to inclusion and strong labor practices and centers local stakeholders in its activities. To get in touch with Climeworks, please use contact-us@climeworks.com.

“The 45Q tax credit enhancements in the Inflation Reduction Act could be truly transformational for DAC by providing a crucial vehicle to scale up this technology that removes historical and unavoidable carbon emissions from the air. Building on the monumental Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the IRA will also profoundly impact the U.S. economic ecosystem developing around DAC technologies. It could not have come at a more critical time to power the momentum we all need”, says Christoph Beuttler, Chief Climate Policy Officer at Climeworks.

The groundbreaking of our second direct air capture and storage facility has begun in Iceland:

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Source

Climeworks, press release, 2022-09-15.

Supplier

Climeworks AG
US Department of Energy (DoE)

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