Climeworks, founded in 2009 in Switzerland, pursues a bold mission: to remove carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. The company keeps pushing toward its goal of reducing the greenhouse effect, and it is not simply maintaining momentum—it’s boosting the efficiency of its direct air capture machines. A new station in Iceland is in development, signaling a leap forward in what is possible with this technology.
Orca stood as the world’s largest air capture facility until September of last year. It can remove around 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the air, a figure roughly equivalent to the annual emissions of about 790 cars on the road today.
However, Orca is set to be surpassed by a more powerful iteration of the technology. The upcoming system will operate at a much larger scale, with a capacity nine times greater than Orca, marking a significant step forward for the industry.
There are around 20 plants worldwide
According to the International Energy Agency, there are roughly 20 air capture plants globally. Despite the growing number, their overall impact on reducing atmospheric CO2 remains limited. As of now, they do not provide a decisive solution to greenhouse gas emissions from human activities.
IEA calculations indicate that to achieve meaningful environmental benefits, facilities would need to absorb about 85 million tons of CO2. With the current fleet of about 20 plants, including Mammoth, the combined capacity is around 0.01 million tons annually, a fraction of the target.
To truly cleanse the planet of greenhouse gases, plants would need to remove roughly one million tons of CO2 each year. The Mammoth facility, meanwhile, can capture about 36,000 tons annually. While these are impressive technological advances, they fall far short of the ambitious goal for meaningful climate impact.
The main challenge with direct air capture is energy demand. Yet, projects like Orca and Mammoth benefit from Iceland’s energy landscape: both facilities are located in the Hellisheiði geothermal park, where renewable energy powers operations and prevents additional emissions. This alignment with clean power is essential to ensure the technology delivers net environmental benefits rather than simply shifting emissions elsewhere.
Further developments in the field continue to emerge, with ongoing assessments focusing on scalability, energy sources, and integration with broader climate strategies. The conversation around direct air capture remains active as researchers and policymakers explore how to best harness this technology at scale.
For more information on direct air capture initiatives and their potential role in climate action, ongoing analyses from credible energy agencies and environmental researchers offer a framework for understanding what is required to translate technological progress into real-world emissions reductions.