Swiss company Climeworks operates Mammoth, the world’s largest direct air capture (DAC) facility in Hlyšiydi, Iceland. This plant is designed to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, acting like a massive vacuum cleaner, and store it permanently. Mammoth, Climeworks’ second commercial DAC facility in Iceland, is 10 times larger than its predecessor, Orca (which began operations in 2021), marking a significant advancement in carbon removal technology.
Despite its promise, DAC technology has been met with controversy due to its high costs and potential risks. DAC uses chemicals to pull in air and separate carbon dioxide, which can then be stored underground, reused, or turned into solid products. At Mammoth, Climeworks has teamed up with Icelandic company Carbfix to inject the captured carbon underground, where it naturally turns into stone, ensuring permanent storage. The plant runs on clean and efficient geothermal energy, abundant in Iceland. The modular system includes 72 “collection containers,” with 12 currently in place and more being added. Once fully operational, Mammoth will capture 36,000 tons of carbon annually, equivalent to the emissions from about 7,800 vehicles per year.
As fossil fuel use continues, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are set to reach record highs in 2023, driving global warming and causing devastating events like floods and heatwaves. Many scientists argue that, alongside reducing emissions, removing carbon from the atmosphere is a necessary measure. Climeworks views Mammoth as a crucial step toward this goal. Co-founder Jan Wurzbacher mentioned that the company aims to reduce the cost of carbon removal to $300 to $350 per ton by 2030 and reach $100 per ton by 2050, at which point the annual removal will scale up to 1 million tons. The long-term goal is to reach 1 billion tons.
Nevertheless, DAC technology still faces significant challenges. Currently, the cost of removing carbon at Mammoth is close to $1,000 per ton, much higher than the $100 per ton considered economically viable. Professor Stuart Haszeldine from the University of Edinburgh highlighted that while Mammoth increases the scale of carbon capture, global carbon removal capacity remains insufficient. The International Energy Agency estimates that existing technologies capture only around 0.01 million tons of carbon annually, far short of the 70 million tons needed by 2030 to meet climate targets. Additionally, DAC technology consumes large amounts of energy and has yet to prove its reliability on a large scale, raising concerns about its long-term viability.
The debate over carbon removal technology extends beyond technical aspects. Lili Fuhr from the Center for International Environmental Law warned that such technologies carry “uncertainties and ecological risks” and could prolong the fossil fuel industry’s existence. For instance, the Stratos plant in Texas (under construction by Occidental) plans to use some of the captured carbon for “enhanced oil recovery,” injecting it into oil wells to extract more oil. Critics fear that carbon capture might become a tool for fossil fuel companies to extend their operations and deflect attention from the need for emission reductions. In contrast, Climeworks asserts that it has no ties to the fossil fuel industry and is focused solely on addressing climate change.
The activation of Mammoth is a significant milestone in carbon removal technology. Climeworks is also planning additional DAC plants in Kenya and the United States, demonstrating its ambition for global expansion. However, for this technology to make a substantial impact on climate change, costs need to decrease significantly, and the scale of operations must expand rapidly. As Haszeldine points out, this is just “a small part of the scale required.” With the climate crisis worsening, it remains to be seen whether Mammoth will become a pivotal solution or remain an expensive symbolic effort.