Climeworks raises CHF 30.5m to remove CO2 from the atmosphere

28.08.2018 15:15, Philipp Gollmer

Climeworks has raised CHF 30.5 million in equity funding, from a group of existing and new private investors. The successful financing round brings the Zurich based startup another step closer to achieving its vision of capturing one per cent of global CO2 emissions by 2025.

The funds will be used to further industrialize Climeworks’ unique, modular and scalable direct air capture (DAC) technology, reduce costs significantly and prepare for mass production. Climeworks plans to expand its presence in all pioneering markets and strengthen its pole position within the direct air capture industry. The new investment comes from a consortium of existing and new private investors and Switzerland’s largest cantonal bank, Zürcher Kantonalbank. With this financing round, investment in Climeworks and its pioneering DAC technology totals more than CHF 50m worth of private equity and public grants.

Climeworks plants remove CO2 directly from the atmosphere. To date, the company has built nine direct air capture plants for three different market segments in 6 countries. Two of those plants marked milestones in the industry last year: in May 2017, Climeworks launched the world’s first commercial DAC plant in Hinwil, Switzerland, selling air-captured CO2 to a greenhouse owner. Later that year in November Climeworks opened the world’s first plant in combination with underground sequestration of CO2 in Iceland.


The Climewors plant in Hinwil, Switzerland, © Climeworks / Julia Dunlop

“Our direct air capture plants serve markets ranging from Food, Beverage and Agriculture, through Renewable Fuels and Materials to Carbon Dioxide Removal”, says Jan Wurzbacher, co-founder and co-CEO of Climeworks. “In the latter, companies and individuals can reverse their unavoidable emissions via Climeworks. All three markets are set to grow, and with this latest investment Climeworks is well-positioned with a strong base for further growth.”

“Besides assembling an exceptional team, we are happy and thankful that we were able to establish an excellent shareholder structure over the last years, supporting us to pioneer the creation of a new, timely and relevant industry”, adds Christoph Gebald, co-founder and co-CEO of Climeworks.

Climeworks was founded 2009 with the mission to capture one per cent of global emissions by 2025. The ETH spin-off won Venture Kick in 2010 and was listed among the TOP 100 Swiss Startups from 2011 to 2014. In 2017, the company was part of the Venture Leaders China roadshow.

Jan Wurzbacher says: "Venturelab, as well as Venture Kick, helped us learn to convince investors, establish a professional business plan and protect our intellectual property effectively. It’s a 'must have' for those who wish to start their own business from scratch.”