Berlin enters the carbon economy: Our member Ucaneo opens Germany’s largest Direct Air Capture plant

▪ Ucaneo’s first industrial plant removes 150 metric tons of CO2 per year directly from
ambient air, one of the largest electrochemical DAC facilities worldwide

▪ Fully electrified process delivers CO2 at over 99.9 percent purity, with no thermal
energy needed

▪ Commercial plant with roughly ten times the capacity already in planning,
construction starting in 2027

 

For more than a century, the global economy has relied on fossil carbon
extracted from oil, gas, and coal. Today, that system is being transformed. While demand for
carbon continues to grow across fuels, chemicals, materials, manufacturing, and carbon removal,
economies worldwide are seeking to reduce dependence on fossil resources, strengthen
domestic supply chains, and achieve climate targets. The result is an emerging carbon supply
gap: carbon remains essential, but its source must change. Closing this gap will require entirely
new carbon infrastructure. Ucaneo is building that infrastructure by turning atmospheric CO2 into
a sustainable industrial resource.

Today, that vision takes a major step forward. Berlin-based carbon infrastructure company
Ucaneo inaugurated Germany’s largest Direct Air Capture (DAC) plant in Berlin-Marzahn,
marking a significant milestone in the emergence of a new carbon economy. The facility removes
150 metric tons of CO2 per year directly from ambient air and produces CO2 at over 99.9 percent
purity, creating a local source of sustainable carbon for permanent storage as well as industrial
applications including sustainable aviation fuels, chemicals, materials, and biomanufacturing.

The plant is one of the largest electrochemical DAC facilities worldwide and serves as the
blueprint for Ucaneo’s next generation of commercial-scale carbon infrastructure. A portion of the
captured CO2 will be permanently stored through geological sequestration, making it the first
verified Direct Air Capture and geological storage project in Germany. With this milestone,
Ucaneo becomes the first company in Germany and only the fifth company worldwide to
permanently store atmospheric CO2 captured through Direct Air Capture, placing the company
among the global pioneers of durable carbon removal.

 

More information: Press release

Photo Credentials: Carl Bahra