Construction begins on Mammoth, the world’s largest CO2 direct air capture plant

by Madeline Simmons

Climeworks, a Swiss technology company, has begun work on its second direct air capture (DAC) plant located in Iceland, according to New Atlas. When completed, it will be the world’s largest CO2 direct air capture plant.

Orca, the first plant, absorbs 4,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere each year and is made up of stackable units, allowing for the company to scale up its operations. Climeworks’ second commercial direct air capture plant, Mammoth, is designed to soak up 36,000 tons of CO2 annually, a massive increase in capacity. Mammoth will allow Climeworks to multiply their modular technology and significantly scale up operations.

While the implementation of these plants signals good news for climate action, humanity as a whole still emits roughly 30 billion tons of CO2 per year. It will take many more Mammoths and Orcas alike to make a significant impact. Fortunately, the U.S. government, as well as Australia and London, are making efforts to fund and research DAC and other avenues for climate action that include solar power and carbon-capturing algae.