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Environment

Global capacity to directly suck CO2 from air has just quadrupled

A new plant in Iceland operated by the firm Climeworks can remove up to 36,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air per year, more than quadrupling existing global capabilities

By Madeleine Cuff

8 May 2024

Mammoth is the biggest direct air capture plant in the world

Oli Haukur Myrdal/OZZO Photograhy/Climeworks

The world’s largest facility for extracting carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere is up and running in Iceland, more than quadrupling the world’s total capacity for direct air capture (DAC).

Globally, DAC projects to date only collectively capture around 10,000 tonnes of carbon per year from the atmosphere. But Mammoth, the newest plant from Swiss firm Climeworks, will extract up to 36,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually when it is fully operational this year.

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