Climeworks

Climeworks : Turning Carbon Removal into Real Infrastructure

For years, climate conversations have revolved around reducing emissions—using less energy, switching to renewables, and improving efficiency. But as climate science has grown more precise, so has its message: cutting emissions alone is no longer enough. To meet global climate targets, the world must also remove carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere. That requirement has moved carbon removal from a theoretical concept to an emerging industrial necessity.

Climeworks is one of the few companies treating carbon removal not as a future idea, but as present-day infrastructure.

Founded in Switzerland, Climeworks focuses on direct air capture (DAC)—a process that removes CO₂ directly from ambient air and permanently stores it underground or reuses it in durable products. It is a technically demanding approach, but one that offers a crucial advantage: it addresses legacy emissions and residual emissions that cannot be eliminated through clean energy alone.

Direct Air Capture, Explained Without the Hype

Direct air capture is often misunderstood, in part because it sounds deceptively simple. Air flows through collectors, CO₂ is captured, and the remaining air is released. In practice, each step requires careful engineering to make the process efficient, scalable, and verifiably permanent.

Climeworks’ DAC systems use solid filters that selectively bind with CO₂ molecules as air passes through them. Once the filters are saturated, they are heated to release the captured CO₂, which can then be compressed and transported for storage or use. According to the company, this process allows CO₂ to be captured “independent of emission sources,” making DAC fundamentally different from point-source capture technologies.

This independence matters. While point-source capture can reduce emissions from factories or power plants, it cannot remove carbon already dispersed throughout the atmosphere. DAC can—and that capability places it in a category of its own.

From Pilot Projects to Operating Plants

Climeworks’ credibility rests on its willingness to build, not just theorize. The company has been operating DAC plants for several years, progressively scaling capacity and refining performance.

One of its most significant milestones came with the launch of Orca in Iceland, which Climeworks described as the world’s first commercial-scale direct air capture and storage plant. Located near the Hellisheiði geothermal power station, Orca captures CO₂ and stores it underground in basalt formations through a partnership with Carbfix. The CO₂ mineralizes into stone over time, providing permanent storage.

Building on that experience, Climeworks later announced Mammoth, a larger DAC facility designed to significantly expand capture capacity. The company has framed these projects as stepping stones toward industrial-scale carbon removal rather than endpoints in themselves.

In public statements, Climeworks has emphasized that learning-by-building is essential. Each plant generates operational data that informs the design of the next, gradually driving down costs and improving efficiency.

Permanence and Trust

Carbon removal only matters if it is permanent and verifiable. This has been a persistent concern among policymakers, scientists, and buyers of carbon removal credits. Climeworks has addressed this by prioritizing geological storage and transparent measurement.

Through its partnership with Carbfix, captured CO₂ is injected into basalt rock formations where it undergoes mineralization. Scientific studies associated with the Carbfix process have shown that injected CO₂ can mineralize within a few years, locking it away for geological timescales. This permanence distinguishes DAC with storage from many offset mechanisms that rely on biological sequestration, which can be reversed by fire, deforestation, or land-use change.

Climeworks has also been vocal about the importance of rigorous monitoring, reporting, and verification. The company positions transparency not as a compliance burden, but as a prerequisite for trust in a market that is still defining itself.

Who Pays for Carbon Removal?

One of the most difficult questions facing carbon removal is economic. Removing CO₂ from the air is energy-intensive and currently expensive. Climeworks has been clear-eyed about this challenge, arguing that early deployment will necessarily rely on a mix of corporate buyers, long-term offtake agreements, and supportive policy frameworks.

A growing number of companies have committed to purchasing carbon removal from Climeworks as part of their net-zero strategies. These buyers are not offsetting ongoing emissions indiscriminately; they are investing in removal as a complement to aggressive reduction efforts.

Climeworks’ co-founder and co-CEO Jan Wurzbacher has articulated this hierarchy clearly, stating in public forums that carbon removal should be used “for emissions that cannot be avoided,” not as a substitute for decarbonization. That distinction has helped position Climeworks as a serious climate actor rather than a loophole provider.

Energy, Efficiency, and Integration

Critics of DAC often point to its energy requirements, questioning whether removing CO₂ using significant energy undermines its climate benefits. Climeworks addresses this by situating its plants near low-carbon energy sources and continuously improving energy efficiency.

The Icelandic plants, for example, leverage geothermal energy—both to power operations and to provide heat for the capture process. This integration is not incidental; it reflects Climeworks’ broader approach to system design. DAC, in the company’s view, must be embedded into clean energy ecosystems to deliver net-negative emissions.

This focus on integration also shapes Climeworks’ vision for the future. Rather than building isolated facilities, the company envisions DAC plants as part of broader industrial clusters, co-located with renewable energy, storage infrastructure, and transport networks.

Why Climeworks Belongs in Rewired 100

Climeworks stands out because it treats carbon removal as an engineering discipline, not a symbolic gesture. It is building real assets, operating them in real conditions, and publishing learnings that push the entire field forward.

In the context of Rewired 100, Climeworks represents a shift in how climate responsibility is understood. The next phase of climate action is not only about preventing harm, but about repairing damage already done. That requires technologies capable of operating at scale, with accountability and permanence.

Climeworks is still early in its journey. Costs must come down, capacity must grow, and policy frameworks must mature. But the direction is clear. By turning carbon removal into infrastructure rather than abstraction, Climeworks is helping define what credible climate action looks like in practice.

As climate targets tighten and scrutiny increases, the companies that matter will be those willing to do the hard, unglamorous work of building systems that last. Climeworks is doing exactly that—quietly, methodically, and with a level of seriousness that the challenge demands.