Case study: Carbon capture, utilization & storage (CCUS) — a startup-to-enterprise scale story

In 2017, Climeworks inaugurated a 900-tonne-per-year direct air capture (DAC) plant in Hinwil, Switzerland, powered by waste heat from a municipal solid waste incineration facility. By 2025, the company had scaled its deployed capture capacity to over 40,000 tonnes of CO2 per year across multiple sites, raised more than $800 million in cumulative funding, and signed offtake agreements with Microsoft, Stripe, Shopify, and JPMorgan Chase collectively worth hundreds of millions of dollars (Climeworks, 2025). The trajectory from a two-person ETH Zurich spin-off to a company operating industrial-scale DAC facilities on two continents offers a detailed blueprint for how CCUS startups navigate the transition from laboratory demonstrations to enterprise-grade infrastructure.

Why It Matters

The International Energy Agency estimates that achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 requires capturing 6 gigatonnes of CO2 per year by mid-century, up from roughly 45 million tonnes captured annually in 2024 (IEA, 2024). Europe has positioned itself as a leading market for CCUS deployment, with the European Commission's Net-Zero Industry Act targeting 50 million tonnes of annual CO2 storage capacity by 2030. The Northern Lights project in Norway, a joint venture between Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies, is building the continent's first cross-border CO2 transport and storage network with an initial capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per year, expandable to 5 million tonnes. These targets create a massive market opportunity, but turning laboratory-proven capture technologies into commercially viable, repeatable infrastructure products remains the central challenge. The startup-to-enterprise journey in CCUS is defined by capital intensity, regulatory navigation, and the difficulty of achieving cost reductions at scale.

Key Concepts

Direct Air Capture (DAC) removes CO2 directly from ambient air using chemical sorbents or solvents. Unlike point-source capture, DAC can be sited anywhere, but the dilute concentration of CO2 in ambient air (roughly 420 parts per million) makes it significantly more energy-intensive per tonne captured than stack-mounted systems.

Point-Source Capture targets concentrated CO2 streams from industrial facilities such as cement kilns, steel mills, or power plants. CO2 concentrations in flue gas range from 4% (natural gas combined cycle) to 30% (cement production), making capture thermodynamically more efficient than DAC.

Technology Readiness Level (TRL) is a standardized scale from 1 (basic research) to 9 (commercial deployment). CCUS startups typically spend 3 to 5 years progressing from TRL 4-5 (laboratory validation) to TRL 7-8 (demonstration plant), and another 3 to 5 years reaching TRL 9 (commercial operation at scale).

45Q Tax Credits in the United States provide up to $180 per tonne for DAC with geological storage and $85 per tonne for point-source capture with storage, creating a powerful economic incentive that has reshaped CCUS investment geography since the Inflation Reduction Act expanded the program in 2022.

What's Working

Climeworks: Modular Architecture as a Scaling Strategy

Climeworks' approach to scaling rests on a modular collector architecture. Each CO2 collector unit is a standardized, containerized module that captures approximately 50 tonnes of CO2 per year using a solid sorbent process. Plants are built by stacking multiple collectors in parallel, meaning that manufacturing improvements and cost reductions from one generation transfer directly to subsequent deployments without requiring full plant redesigns.

The company's Orca plant in Iceland, commissioned in 2021 with 4,000 tonnes per year of capacity, served as the critical bridge between pilot and commercial scale. Orca validated the integration of Climeworks' capture technology with Carbfix's mineralization storage process, which dissolves CO2 in water and injects it into basaltic rock formations where it mineralizes into stable carbonates within 2 years. The Mammoth plant, also in Iceland and targeting 36,000 tonnes per year at full deployment, represents a 9x scale-up from Orca using the same collector architecture with second-generation sorbent materials that reduce energy consumption per tonne by approximately 20% (Climeworks, 2025).

The modular approach has specific commercial advantages. Climeworks can deploy capacity incrementally, matching capital expenditure to secured offtake agreements rather than building massive single-train facilities that require full utilization to achieve economic returns. Each new plant generation incorporates manufacturing process improvements: Mammoth's collectors are produced on semi-automated assembly lines with cycle times 40% shorter than Orca's hand-assembled units.

Carbon Clean: Point-Source Capture for Industrial Decarbonization

London-based Carbon Clean has pursued a different but complementary path, developing compact point-source capture systems targeting industrial emitters. Founded in 2009, the company spent nearly a decade refining its proprietary APBS (Amine Promoted Buffer Salt) solvent system, which reduces the energy penalty of amine-based CO2 capture by 30 to 40% compared to conventional monoethanolamine (MEA) solvents.

Carbon Clean's breakthrough came through a deliberate shift from custom-engineered projects to a standardized product: CycloneCC, a modular capture unit designed for mass manufacturing. Each CycloneCC module captures approximately 10,000 tonnes of CO2 per year and is sized to fit on a single truck for transport and rapid installation. The company secured $150 million in Series C funding in 2023, led by Chevron, Samsung, and Equinor Ventures, explicitly to build manufacturing capacity for CycloneCC at scale (Carbon Clean, 2024).

The product-market fit insight was targeting mid-sized industrial emitters (cement plants, steel mills, waste-to-energy facilities) that emit 50,000 to 500,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. These facilities are too small to justify bespoke multi-hundred-million-dollar capture installations but collectively represent a larger addressable market than mega-emitters. Carbon Clean has deployed or contracted CycloneCC systems at over 50 sites across Europe and Asia, with installations in cement facilities operated by Heidelberg Materials and CEMEX demonstrating 90%+ capture rates at costs below $50 per tonne for high-concentration streams.

Storegga and the Acorn Project: Infrastructure-Led Scaling

Scotland-based Storegga illustrates how a startup can scale by building shared CO2 transport and storage infrastructure. The Acorn CCS project at St Fergus, Scotland, repurposes existing North Sea pipeline infrastructure to transport captured CO2 from industrial clusters in northeast Scotland to offshore geological storage in depleted gas reservoirs. This infrastructure-first approach reduces per-tonne costs by amortizing transport and storage capital across multiple capture sources.

Storegga secured Track-2 status under the UK government's Carbon Capture Usage and Storage cluster sequencing process in 2024, unlocking access to a regulated revenue model with contracts for difference that guarantee a minimum price per tonne of CO2 stored. The company has signed MoUs with over 20 industrial emitters seeking access to the Acorn storage network, representing potential throughput of 5 to 10 million tonnes per year by 2030 (Storegga, 2024).

What's Not Working

Cost curves are declining more slowly than projected. Climeworks' current cost of capture is estimated at $600 to $800 per tonne, down from over $1,000 per tonne at the Orca plant but still far above the sub-$200 levels needed for broad commercial viability without premium voluntary market pricing. The company's internal target of $300 to $400 per tonne by 2030 depends on manufacturing scale-up and next-generation sorbent performance that has not yet been demonstrated at commercial scale.

Permitting and geological characterization timelines remain long. Storage site development in Europe requires 5 to 8 years from initial screening to injection permit, with geological characterization (seismic surveys, appraisal wells, dynamic reservoir modeling) consuming 60 to 70% of that timeline. The Acorn project experienced a 2-year delay in its final investment decision partly due to regulatory uncertainty around the UK's business model framework for CCS.

Energy requirements constrain siting options. DAC requires 6 to 10 GJ of thermal energy and 250 to 400 kWh of electricity per tonne of CO2 captured. For the process to deliver genuine climate benefits, this energy must come from low-carbon sources. In practice, this restricts viable DAC sites to locations with abundant geothermal energy (Iceland), low-cost renewables (US Southwest, parts of Africa), or industrial waste heat. Climeworks' reliance on Iceland's geothermal resources is geographically optimal but limits the pace of global deployment.

Voluntary carbon removal markets remain volatile. Between 2022 and 2024, average prices for engineered carbon removal credits fluctuated between $400 and $1,200 per tonne depending on permanence guarantees and buyer requirements. Several high-profile advance market commitments, including Frontier (the Stripe-led coalition), have provided critical demand signals, but total voluntary market volume for engineered removals was only 300,000 to 400,000 tonnes in 2024, far below what is needed to support industry-wide scale-up.

Key Players

Established Companies

• Equinor: operator of the Sleipner and Snohvit CO2 storage projects (28+ million tonnes stored since 1996), co-developer of Northern Lights transport and storage infrastructure
• Shell: partner in Northern Lights, operator of the Quest CCS facility in Alberta capturing 1.2 million tonnes per year from oil sands upgrading
• Linde: global industrial gases company providing CO2 compression, purification, and transport solutions for CCUS projects
• Heidelberg Materials: cement manufacturer deploying Carbon Clean capture technology and constructing the Brevik CCS project, the world's first full-scale cement plant carbon capture installation

Startups

• Climeworks: Swiss DAC pioneer operating Mammoth plant in Iceland, scaling modular solid sorbent capture technology toward 1 million tonnes per year by 2030
• Carbon Clean: UK-based developer of modular point-source capture systems targeting mid-sized industrial emitters with standardized CycloneCC product
• Storegga: Scottish company developing the Acorn CO2 transport and storage network using repurposed North Sea infrastructure
• Carbfix: Icelandic company commercializing mineral carbonation storage in basaltic rock, partnered with Climeworks and other capture developers
• Heirloom Carbon: US-based startup using limestone-based DAC with passive air contactors, targeting sub-$100 per tonne capture costs

Investors

• Breakthrough Energy Ventures: lead investor in multiple CCUS startups including Carbon Clean and Heirloom Carbon
• Partners Group: lead investor in Climeworks' $650 million equity round in 2022
• Chevron Technology Ventures: investor in Carbon Clean and multiple point-source capture technology companies

Action Checklist

• Assess whether modular, standardized product architectures can replace custom-engineered project approaches in your capture technology development
• Secure multi-year offtake agreements before committing to next-generation plant construction to de-risk capital deployment
• Map available low-carbon energy sources at potential deployment sites, prioritizing locations with geothermal, waste heat, or dedicated renewable capacity
• Engage with CO2 transport and storage network operators early to secure access to shared infrastructure
• Build regulatory affairs capability in-house to navigate permitting processes for both capture facilities and storage sites
• Evaluate 45Q tax credits (US), Innovation Fund grants (EU), and UK CfD mechanisms to identify the most favorable deployment geographies for your technology
• Establish a manufacturing scale-up roadmap that targets 30 to 50% unit cost reductions per generation through automation, supply chain optimization, and design standardization
• Develop partnerships with industrial emitters who can serve as anchor customers for initial commercial deployments

FAQ

Q: What is the typical timeline for a CCUS startup to move from first pilot to commercial-scale operation? A: Based on the trajectories of Climeworks, Carbon Clean, and comparable companies, the typical journey from first pilot plant (TRL 6-7) to commercial-scale operation (TRL 9) takes 6 to 10 years. Climeworks went from its first commercial pilot in 2017 to the Mammoth plant commissioning in 2024, a span of 7 years. Carbon Clean spent approximately 8 years from its first industrial deployment in India to launching its standardized CycloneCC product. The timeline is heavily influenced by access to patient capital, regulatory permitting speed, and the availability of CO2 storage or utilization partners.

Q: How do European CCUS startups compete with US companies that benefit from 45Q tax credits? A: European CCUS startups leverage several distinct advantages: the EU Innovation Fund provides grants of up to 60% of capital costs for first-of-a-kind projects; the EU Emissions Trading System carbon price (fluctuating between 50 and 100 euros per tonne in 2024-2025) creates a compliance-driven demand floor; and the UK's CfD mechanism for CCS provides 15-year revenue certainty. Additionally, European industrial clusters (Rotterdam, Teesside, northeast Scotland) offer concentrated emitter density and existing pipeline infrastructure that reduce transport costs. However, for DAC specifically, US 45Q credits at $180 per tonne make the US the most economically attractive deployment geography, which is why several European DAC companies including Carbon Engineering (now part of Occidental Petroleum's 1PointFive) and even Climeworks are exploring US expansion.

Q: What are the biggest risks for CCUS startups during the scale-up phase? A: The three most critical risks are: first, technology performance at scale, as capture rates, energy consumption, and sorbent or solvent degradation rates observed at pilot scale frequently worsen by 10 to 30% when scaled to commercial capacity due to heat integration challenges, flow distribution issues, and real-world operational variability; second, construction cost overruns, with first-of-a-kind CCUS facilities historically experiencing 30 to 80% cost overruns versus initial estimates; and third, counterparty risk in offtake agreements, as voluntary carbon removal buyers can and have renegotiated or delayed purchases when their own financial conditions change.

Q: What role does CO2 utilization play versus permanent geological storage? A: Utilization pathways (converting CO2 into building materials, chemicals, or synthetic fuels) currently account for a small fraction of total CCUS deployment. The global CO2 utilization market consumed approximately 230 million tonnes of CO2 in 2024, but the vast majority was for enhanced oil recovery and urea production with limited climate benefit. Genuine climate-beneficial utilization, such as mineralization into building aggregates (pursued by CarbonCure and Solidia Technologies) or conversion to sustainable aviation fuel, represents less than 5 million tonnes per year. For climate impact at the gigatonne scale, permanent geological storage is the primary pathway, with utilization serving niche but commercially important markets that can generate revenue during the early scale-up phase.

Sources

• Climeworks. (2025). Mammoth Plant: Deployment Update and Performance Data. Zurich: Climeworks AG.
• International Energy Agency. (2024). CCUS in Clean Energy Transitions. Paris: IEA.
• Carbon Clean. (2024). CycloneCC: Modular Carbon Capture for Industrial Decarbonization. London: Carbon Clean Solutions Ltd.
• Storegga. (2024). Acorn CCS Project: Development Update and Cluster Engagement Report. Aberdeen: Storegga Geotechnologies Ltd.
• European Commission. (2024). Net-Zero Industry Act: Implementation Report on CO2 Storage Capacity Targets. Brussels: European Commission.
• Northern Lights JV. (2025). Annual Report 2024: Cross-Border CO2 Transport and Storage Operations. Stavanger: Northern Lights JV DA.
• Frontier. (2024). Advance Market Commitment for Carbon Removal: 2024 Purchase Portfolio Report. San Francisco: Frontier Climate.