Carbonsations "Nature-Based and Tech-Based Carbon Removal Work Better Together," Christoph Gebald, Climeworks CEO
Mar 10, 2026
Christoph Gebald, co-founder and CEO of Climeworks and a mechanical engineer who built commercial direct air capture plants. He recalls Iceland field lessons and key tech breakthroughs in modular design and materials. He discusses cost trajectory and the Zurich innovation center. He argues nature-based and tech removals are complementary and outlines global scaling, energy strategies, and policy needs.
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Cut Costs By Improving Materials And Throughput
- Reduce both energy use and capital per machine to cut DAC costs: improve filter performance and increase CO2 throughput per machine.
- Recent breakthroughs include ~10x material performance and halving energy, enabling ~4x CO2 per machine in pilots.
Realistic Near-Term Cost Expectations
- Climeworks projects net removal cost of $400–$500/t by decade's end, acknowledging $100/t is challenging but technological leaps can surprise.
- The company emphasizes exponential improvement potential, citing unexpected 10x material gains.
Innovation Center Slashes R&D Cycle Time
- The Zurich DAC Innovation Center compresses material-to-field testing from ~6 months to one week and can test ~100 materials in parallel.
- The $50M center simulates global climates to predict commercial plant performance accurately.