• Climeworks has more than doubled CO₂ capture performance in upgraded collector containers at its Mammoth direct air capture facility in Iceland.
• Operating costs for the upgraded systems have fallen by more than 50% following 18 months of operational learning and technology improvements.
• The results provide real-world data for Climeworks’ next generation of direct air capture systems as the sector works to reduce the cost of carbon removal.

Climeworks has more than doubled CO₂ capture performance in upgraded collector containers at Mammoth, its direct air capture and storage facility in Iceland.

The performance gains follow 18 months of operating the large-scale facility. Climeworks used data from Mammoth to refine both its sorbent technology and plant design.

The first upgraded collector containers are now achieving their expected design performance under real-world conditions. At the same time, operating costs for the upgraded systems have fallen by more than 50%.

For the direct air capture sector, both metrics matter. The technology can remove CO₂ directly from the atmosphere, but costs remain one of the biggest barriers to wider deployment.

Operational Data Drives Technology Improvements

Mammoth gives Climeworks the opportunity to test its technology beyond laboratory and pilot conditions.

Large facilities expose equipment to operating conditions that smaller demonstrations cannot always replicate. Performance data can then feed directly into engineering changes, sorbent improvements and future plant designs.

Climeworks said the latest upgrades draw on lessons collected throughout Mammoth’s first 18 months of operation.

The company has focused on improving the material used to capture CO₂ as well as the design of the plant itself. Those changes have resulted in more than twice the capture performance in upgraded collector containers.

Climeworks also operates an innovation center alongside its commercial facilities. The company said this combination allows operating data and research to inform each other more quickly.

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Lower Costs Remain Critical for Direct Air Capture

Cost reduction remains central to the commercial outlook for direct air capture.

DAC facilities use engineered systems to pull relatively dilute CO₂ from ambient air. That creates energy, equipment and infrastructure requirements that can make each tonne of removal expensive.

Reducing operating costs by more than 50% within upgraded Mammoth systems therefore provides an important indicator for future plant economics.

The result does not mean that costs across the entire Mammoth facility have fallen by the same amount. Climeworks specifically reported the reduction for its upgraded collector systems.

However, continued improvements in capture efficiency can influence the economics of future projects. Higher productivity from each collector could reduce operating requirements and improve the amount of carbon removal generated from installed infrastructure.

That will be closely watched by corporate buyers and investors evaluating long-term carbon removal contracts.

Mammoth Becomes a Test Bed for Future DAC Systems

Climeworks is using the operational experience from Mammoth to shape the next generation of its direct air capture technology.

Co-founder and co-CEO Jan Wurzbacher detailed the company’s findings in a new article examining what Climeworks has learned from operating the facility. The analysis also explains how those lessons are influencing its future technology development.

The broader challenge for DAC developers is moving from technically viable carbon removal to systems that can operate reliably and economically at much larger scales.

For executives and investors, performance data from operating facilities is becoming increasingly important. Carbon removal agreements can extend over many years, while projects often require substantial capital before reaching full operation.

Evidence that equipment can improve through successive operating cycles could help developers address technology and delivery risk. It can also give buyers more information when assessing future removal portfolios.

For policymakers, the results reinforce the role of early commercial facilities in technology development. Deployment does not simply add carbon removal capacity. It can generate the operational knowledge needed to improve subsequent generations of equipment.

Mammoth is therefore serving two purposes for Climeworks. It is a carbon removal facility, but it is also providing a large-scale testing environment for future systems.

Whether those improvements can continue across larger facilities will help determine how quickly direct air capture can move down the cost curve. For the emerging carbon removal market, that remains one of the defining questions for the next phase of deployment.