In this episode of our ‘Sustainability in the Air’ podcast, Dr. Christoph Gebald, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Climeworks, speaks with SimpliFlying CEO Shashank Nigam about scaling direct air capture (DAC) technology and its vital role in sustainable aviation.
Since its inception in 2009, Climeworks has built the world’s first and largest direct air capture and storage plant in Iceland and is now partnering with major airlines like Lufthansa and British Airways to make aviation more sustainable.
In 2024, Climeworks also opened its second commercial DAC and storage plant, Mammoth, in Iceland. The facility is designed to capture up to 36,000 tons of CO2 annually once fully operational and is the world’s largest DAC facility.
Here are the key highlights of the conversation:
Direct air capture’s role in sustainable aviation (2:16)
Difference between DAC, CCU and CCUS (6:42)
Comparing DAC to traditional offsets (15:28)
The cost of DAC and how it compares to sustainable aviation fuels (21:04)
Climeworks’ Generation 3 technology and impact on adoption (26:21)
Climeworks Solutions and portfolio approach (39:30)
The importance of combining tech and natural carbon removal solutions (41:34)
Rapid fire! (45:16)
Keep reading for a detailed overview of the episode.
Why scaling direct air capture matters for aviation
As aviation grapples with its path to net zero, DAC emerges as a crucial complement to existing solutions.
“To achieve climate targets, which essentially means net zero by 2050, we need two things to happen”, explains Gebald. “The first one is massive emission reductions, which account for roughly 90% of the exercise we have to do. Now, no matter how hard we reduce our CO2 emissions, the understanding is that we’ll be sitting roughly on a pillar of 10% of so-called hard-to-abate emissions that have to be removed from the atmosphere.”
Unlike traditional carbon offsets that focus on avoiding future emissions, DAC actively removes existing CO2 from the atmosphere.
As Gebald notes, if an airline bought a carbon removal credit instead of an avoidance credit, the CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and the airline can claim that the operations are happening in a net zero manner. This distinction is crucial for aviation’s sustainability journey, particularly for addressing unavoidable emissions.
5 takeaways from the conversation
1. Technological evolution and efficiency gains
While current DAC costs remain in the “high triple-digit dollars per tonne of CO2 avoided,” Gebald expects this to drop to $100-200 per tonne by 2040. He notes that this trajectory mirrors cost reductions seen in other clean technologies, such as solar power and electric vehicles, which began with high costs before achieving commercial viability through scale and technological advancement.
Moreover, Climeworks recently unveiled Generation 3, which marks a significant advancement in doubling CO2 capture capacity per module whilst halving energy consumption.
The company has adopted a modular approach to scaling – a departure from traditional industrial facility design, says Gebald. Rather than constructing increasingly large single units, Climeworks multiplies smaller, standardised modules – analogous to solar panel installations.
This strategy enables them to leverage economies of mass production whilst systematically reducing risk, he adds. It also supports continuous improvement, with each new generation of modules building on lessons learned from earlier installations.
“You’re not building [the first plant] with the prospect of it being the most efficient plant. You’re building it to show that it’s actually working, that it’s robust,” Gebald explains.”
2. Strategic location and infrastructure
Climeworks’ selection of Iceland for their Orca and Mammoth facilities reflects a careful consideration of operational requirements and geological advantages. The country offers two crucial benefits:
Abundant “low-cost, low-carbon energy” – essential for the energy-intensive capture process;
And, ideal geological conditions for permanent CO2 storage.
In Iceland, Climeworks has teamed up with Carbfix, which employs a unique geological process to permanently store captured CO2 underground. The CO2 is injected into deep basalt rock formations, where it reacts with minerals to form stable carbonate minerals.
This process effectively locks the CO2 away, ensuring it remains safely stored for over 10,000 years and preventing its release back into the atmosphere.
“If you capture CO2 from any location – whether it’s Iceland, the United States, China, or anywhere else – it has a global impact. The diffusion of CO2 in the atmosphere happens within days. So, by capturing CO2 in Iceland and storing it underground, we can create a global impact and serve customers around the world,” he says.
2. Airline partnerships and market development
While Climeworks’ has secured partnerships with airlines like SWISS, Lufthansa and British Airways, the wider adoption of DAC in aviation faces quite a few challenges. “Airlines are heavily focused on sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and the related mandates,” Gebald explains, “whereas, for carbon dioxide removal, I’m afraid currently there’s no regulation or no mandate to be fulfilled.”
Despite these challenges, the economic case for DAC is becoming increasingly compelling, says Gebald.
“There are studies out there that say if you use carbon dioxide removal and continue to use fossil jet fuel, it’s actually more economical… up to seven times more economical than producing sustainable aviation fuels.”
To accelerate adoption, Gebald advocates for regulatory frameworks that treat carbon removal credits and SAF interchangeably. Such a change could create powerful market dynamics and accelerate the scaling of DAC technology, he adds.
4. Portfolio approach to carbon removal
Recognising that no single solution can address the climate challenge, Climeworks has expanded their offering beyond pure DAC through their Climeworks Solutions initiative.
This approach combines DAC with other carbon removal methods like biochar and afforestation and offers customised portfolios that bring together engineered and nature-based solutions, to help individual companies meet their climate goals.
For Climeworks, the decision to extend this comes in response to strong customer demand and the urgency to accelerate on all fronts in the pursuit of fighting climate change. “We’re very knowledgeable about carbon removal, and over time, companies started asking us, ‘Is there more you can provide? Can you help us set up portfolios?’”
“Today, Climeworks is a high-quality carbon dioxide removal provider that can offer direct air capture credits… but we also purchase non-direct air capture credits, such as those from biochar, afforestation, and reforestation, to assemble tailored portfolios for our clients.”
5. Future vision and scaling targets
Climeworks aims to reach megaton capture capacity by 2030 and gigaton capacity by 2050. This ambitious scaling journey involves systematic capacity increases, with each new facility incorporating learnings from previous installations.
Looking towards 2050, Gebald envisions a transformed carbon removal industry: “In 25 years from now, [I hope] there will be 20 to 30 major [CO2 removal] companies, all as big as today’s oil and gas companies in terms of revenue, serving the market.”
This projection suggests a future where carbon removal becomes a mainstream industrial sector, playing a crucial role in achieving global climate targets.
The key to realising this vision, according to Gebald, lies in embracing iteration and continuous improvement: “Everything goes in iterations... no matter how perfect you try to prepare something anyway, it’ll go in iterations. So embrace that.”
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