Direct air capture (or DAC) is key to mitigating climate change.
It is a technology solution that captures carbon dioxide directly from ambient air. Our modular CO₂ collectors are powered solely by renewable energy or energy-from-waste and selectively capture carbon dioxide in two steps:
Phase 1
Air is drawn into the collector with a fan. Carbon dioxide is captured on the surface of a highly selective filter material that sits inside the collectors (“adsorption”).
Phase 2
After the filter material is full with carbon dioxide, the collector is closed. The filter material is then heated to approximately 100 °C - this releases the carbon dioxide (“desorption”) and we can collect it in high purity and concentration.
The air-captured carbon dioxide can either be upcycled into climate-friendly products such as carbon-neutral fuels and materials, or completely removed from the air by safely storing it.
At the Climeworks Orca plant, Climeworks captures CO2 from air which is then delivered to Carbfix who provides permanent CO2 storage via mineralization.
For further information please have a look at our “"How it works" section.