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Climeworks opens innovation center for CO₂ removal in Zurich
Dec 12, 2025
Climeworks aims to accelerate the development of technology for removing CO₂ from the air at its new Zurich Innovation Center, bringing more than 50 specialists together under one roof. The latest breakthroughs are to be translated there into more efficient and more cost-effective solutions.
According to a company statement, Climeworks has opened “the world’s largest innovation center for Direct Air Capture (DAC)” in Zurich. Its overarching goal is to significantly reduce the costs of technology for removing CO₂ from the atmosphere. The world needs DAC on a massive scale, says co-founder and co-CEO Jan Wurzbacher, and cost reductions are the key: “With the DAC Innovation Center, we are turning our latest breakthroughs into practical, efficient and more affordable solutions.”
As early as July 2025, the spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) announced that it planned to invest 162 million US dollars in fresh capital raised in a funding round into the further development of its DAC technology, in order to reduce capture costs even further. In the newly established innovation center, located between the city center and the airport, more than 50 engineers, chemists and technology specialists are now working, according to the company. In doing so, Climeworks says it benefits “from Switzerland’s thriving climate innovation ecosystem and engineering talent.”
The new DAC Innovation Center brings together the four key elements of DAC development under one roof: first, materials science to develop next-generation sorbent materials; second, integrated prototype development of small and mid-scale test facilities; third, system optimization to improve energy consumption, modularity and scalability for global deployment; and fourth, reliability testing. Climeworks describes this integrated approach as part of its global growth strategy.
In addition to the DAC Innovation Center, Climeworks is also opening an exhibition space. There, visitors can experience CO₂ removal up close. The exhibition links direct air capture with other leading CO₂ removal technologies and highlights their benefits for economies and communities around the world.
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