Climeworks, a Zurich, Switzerland-based carbon dioxide removal technology company, raised CHF 30.5m in equity funding.
A group of existing and new private investors as well as Zurich Cantonal Bank participated in the round.
The company intends to use the funds to further industrialize its technology and strengthen its market lead within the direct air capture industry.
Co-founded by Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher, Climeworks captures CO2 from air via commercial carbon dioxide removal technology. Its direct air capture plants capture CO2 with a filter, using mainly low-grade heat as an energy source.
The pure CO2 gas is then sold to customers in key markets, including commercial agriculture, food and beverage industries, the energy sector and the automotive industry. Customers utilize this atmospheric CO2 in carbonated drinks or to produce carbon-neutral hydrocarbon fuels and materials.
Additionally, the company enables customers to realize their climate goals by reversing their emissions and safely storing the captured CO2.
TO date, Climeworks has built nine direct air capture plants for three different market segments in 6 countries. Among them, in May 2017, the company launched the world’s first commercial DAC plant in Hinwil, Switzerland, selling air-captured CO2 to a greenhouse owner. Later last year, in November, Climeworks opened the world’s first DAC plant in combination with underground sequestration of CO2 in Iceland.
The company is now further industrializing its modular and scalable direct air capture (DAC) technology and prepare for mass production. It plans to expand its presence in all pioneering markets and strengthen its position within the direct air capture industry.
Climeworks also aims to expand the team, today consisting of 60 skilled employees in Zurich, strengthening development capabilities and supporting commercial deployment.
FinSMEs
28/08/2018