Climeworks Mammoth: The Iceland Plant Pulling CO2 Out of the Air

Climeworks Mammoth is a large direct air capture plant in Iceland, built to pull carbon dioxide straight out of the air and store it underground. The Swiss company announced the project in June 2022 as the successor to its Orca plant, which was the largest of its kind at the time.

How Climeworks Mammoth works

Direct air capture machines draw in ambient air and separate out the CO2. At Mammoth the captured gas is handed to Carbfix, an Icelandic partner that stores it permanently underground, where it turns into rock. The energy comes from ON Power, which supplies renewable geothermal electricity from its Hellisheiði plant.

The size of the project

The planned capacity of Mammoth is 36,000 tonnes of CO2 per year once fully operational. Orca, the earlier plant, was designed for 4,000 tonnes. At announcement, construction was expected to take 18 to 24 months, and press reports in 2024 said the plant had begun operating.

Why the Climeworks Mammoth project matters

Cutting emissions comes first, but many climate plans also count on removing carbon that is already in the air. Direct air capture is one of the few ways to do that and store it permanently. Iceland is a good fit because of its cheap clean geothermal power and rock formations that suit storage.

A reality check

Thirty six thousand tonnes a year is a milestone for the technology, but the world emits tens of billions of tonnes every year. Costs, energy use and actual yearly output will decide whether this approach can grow big enough to matter. Readers should watch reported numbers as well as announcements.

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Sources: ESG Today, Climeworks launch coverage, June 2022.