European startups, investors, and accelerators

CClimeworks

Climeworks is a Swiss climate tech pioneer specializing in direct air capture (DAC) of CO₂ – essentially technology to filter carbon dioxide directly out of the atmosphere. Founded in 2009 as a spin-off from ETH Zürich by engineers Jan Wurzbacher and Christoph Gebald, Climeworks has the distinction of building the world’s first commercial DAC plants. Its modular CO₂ collectors use a special filter that binds CO₂ when air passes through, then releases pure CO₂ when heated, allowing it to be captured and stored or reused. In 2017 Climeworks opened a prototype DAC plant in Iceland in partnership with Carbfix, where captured CO₂ is injected underground and mineralized into rock. By 2021, they launched “Orca” in Iceland – the largest DAC plant at the time – able to remove 4,000 tons of CO₂ per year, selling carbon removal as a service to corporate clients like Stripe, Microsoft and Shopify. Climeworks gained widespread attention as the first DAC unicorn: in April 2022 it raised $650M in an equity round (Europe’s largest-ever climate tech funding) at a valuation reportedly around $2 billion. Investors include Carbon Removal Partners and Big Oil venture arms, reflecting broad interest in negative emissions tech. As of 2025, Climeworks is scaling up “Mammoth,” a 36,000 tCO₂/yr plant in Iceland, and planning multi-megaton facilities by 2030. The EU and US policy push for carbon removal (with 45Q tax credits, etc.) strongly benefits Climeworks. The company also sells captured CO₂ for reuse in drinks and agriculture (a smaller market) and operates demonstration units in countries like Switzerland and Italy. With global climate goals increasingly reliant on carbon removal, Climeworks is positioned as a leader in an emerging industry. It touts a goal of removing 1% of global CO₂ emissions by 2050. While challenges remain (DAC is energy-intensive and currently expensive, around $600/ton), Climeworks has achieved real progress – turning sci-fi into reality. Its name comes up frequently in climate policy discussions, and it was highlighted at COP26 as an example of scalable climate innovation. In summary, Climeworks is a trailblazer in direct air capture, turning a bold lab idea into the world’s first commercial carbon removal service, putting Zurich on the climate tech map.