Climeworks secures financing of 162 million dollars

(CONNECT) Climeworks can take further steps towards realizing the world's first profitable direct air separation plant with 162 million dollars in fresh capital. According to a company press release, the latest financing round was led by the Bavarian BitPoint Holding and the asset management company Partners Group from Baar ZG. Existing investors have also participated.

As Climeworks emphasizes, this is the largest investment of the year in CO2 removal worldwide to date. This brings the total funding since the company was founded in 2009 to over 1 billion dollars. This further consolidates the company's position as industry leader.

The spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich intends to use the fresh funds to drive forward the further development of its Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology in order to further reduce the costs of separation. Significant progress has already been made, such as a doubling of energy efficiency, an increase in throughput and a significantly longer service life for the filter materials.

In addition, Climeworks is reportedly working on further expanding its portfolio of CO2 capture solutions. The global separation volume contractually agreed with companies already amounts to 6 million tons. According to analysts, the market for CO2 removal could reach a volume of 80 billion dollars by 2030 and grow to 1 trillion dollars by 2050.

"Direct Air Capture has evolved from an experiment to an indispensable technology - and we are focusing on scaling it through cost reductions and innovation," CEO Christoph Gebald is quoted as saying. "Reaching the 1 billion dollar mark is not just a milestone - it shows that carbon capture is real, necessary and here to stay." ce/mm