By Ollie Potter | Last updated: April 2026 | 9 min read

Carbon capture startups closed $1.2 billion in equity and debt financing in the first three quarters of 2024. This makes it the second-highest annual tally in five years. Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Shopify are now signing multi-year deals with direct air capture companies. These contracts cover hundreds of thousands of tons at prices around $200 to $300 per ton.

The Inflation Reduction Act changed the economics. Tax credits make large-scale capture projects financially viable for the first time. Germany just committed $7 billion to industrial decarbonization including CCS technologies. Five US states enacted carbon capture legislation in 2024 alone.

Despite operational problems at Mammoth, Climeworks has the most proven technology and the deepest corporate relationships. When Microsoft or Shopify wants to buy carbon removal at scale, they call Zürich first. The gap between announced capacity and actual capture is concerning. But no other DAC company has 15 operational plants. If you're a corporate looking to lock in multi-year removal contracts, Climeworks remains the safest bet.

Climeworks opened the world's largest DAC plant while capturing less than 0.3% of its stated capacity in year one.

Founded: 2009 | HQ: Zürich, Switzerland | Funding: $1B+ total

The Swiss pioneer raised $162 million in July 2025, bringing total funding past $1 billion. That's more than the next five DAC companies combined. BigPoint Holding (which owns AMAG, Switzerland's largest car importer) led the round alongside Partners Group, GIC, and Baillie Gifford.

Climeworks launched its Mammoth facility in Iceland in May 2024 with 36,000-ton annual capacity. By late May 2024, it had captured just 105 metric tons. The company blamed slower-than-expected build-out and administrative delays, then cut 10% of its workforce. Despite the stumble, Climeworks operates 15+ plants across Europe and counts Schneider Electric, Accenture, H&M Group, and Microsoft as customers.

The technology uses fans to pull air across CO2-absorbing amines in containers. Once saturated, doors close and steam releases the CO2. Captured carbon gets pumped underground with water under high pressure. There it reacts with basalt rock to form solid carbonate. The process uses renewable energy or energy-from-waste with less than 10% carbon re-emission. Climeworks employs 300+ people internationally and remains the industry standard for corporate partnerships.

Mission Zero sells DAC machines to companies that need CO2, not carbon credits to companies that want to offset.

Founded: 2020 | HQ: London, UK | Funding: £21.8M (~$27.5M)

The London startup raised £21.8 million in March 2024 from 2150, World Fund, Fortescue, Siemens Financial Services, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures. It's taking a different path than Climeworks. Instead of running DAC plants and selling carbon credits, Mission Zero manufactures and sells DAC units to industries that need steady CO2 supply. These include synthetic aviation fuel producers, carbonated beverage makers, and industrial gas companies.

The electrochemical process captures CO2 in a water-based solvent, then uses electrolysis to separate CO2 from water at 98 to 99% purity. The system consumes 3 to 5 times less energy than conventional DAC methods. Everything's built from off-the-shelf components for mass manufacturability. "People build technologies based on things discovered in the lab, for which the supply chains don't exist and you can't scale it," CEO Nicholas Chadwick told Sifted. "A central part of our product ethos is that everything's off the shelf."

By end of 2024, three systems were deployed in projects for CO2 mineralization, carbon-negative building materials, and sustainable aviation fuel. The company won $1 million from Elon Musk's XPRIZE Foundation. It pivoted away from an Oman project to pursue prospects with clearer commercial trajectory. Mission Zero aims to deploy 1 billion tonnes of DAC capability by 2040. Stripe, Klarna, and Deep Sky are customers.

Carbon Engineering's technology powers the facility that landed Microsoft's 500,000-ton purchase, the largest single DAC deal ever signed.

Founded: 2009 | HQ: [Location TBD] | Funding: Undisclosed (acquired by Occidental Petroleum)

Occidental Petroleum acquired Carbon Engineering and deployed its liquid DAC technology at the STRATOS facility in Texas. STRATOS is now the world's largest direct air capture facility. The technology uses potassium hydroxide solution to capture CO2 through a high-temperature pathway.

Microsoft's 500,000-ton purchase agreement with 1PointFive (Occidental's clean energy subsidiary running STRATOS) set a new benchmark for corporate carbon removal procurement. Prices reportedly sit around $200 to $300 per ton for multi-year contracts covering hundreds of thousands of tons. Air Canada and Chevron are also investors.

The alliance between an oil major and tech companies seeking carbon removal credits shows how carbon capture is blurring traditional industry lines. Occidental brings capital and industrial expertise. Tech companies bring long-term offtake agreements. Carbon Engineering's technology proved it can operate at commercial scale. STRATOS sets the bar every other DAC company must clear.

Heirloom's CEO says carbon capture "is all about cost, cost, and cost," and the company raised $150 million in 2024 to prove it.

Founded: [Year TBD] | HQ: Brisbane, California | Funding: $200M+ total

Future Positive and Lowercarbon Capital led Heirloom's $150 million Series B in 2024. DCVC and Breakthrough Energy Ventures backed earlier rounds. The Brisbane company uses modified limestone for enhanced mineralization. Limestone naturally absorbs CO2. Heirloom accelerates the process.

"We believe DAC is all about cost, cost, and cost, and that it will only scale to make a meaningful difference on climate change if it is affordable," CEO Shashank Samala told Crunchbase. The company began operating a commercial DAC facility in Tracy, California in 2023 after signing a carbon removal deal with Microsoft. It won $1 million from XPRIZE.

Heirloom participates in Project Cypress, a Louisiana DAC hub aiming for 1 million tons of annual CO2 removal capacity. The company progressed from startup to commercial facility to megaton-scale hub project in under five years. The limestone approach differs from chemical sorbents used by Climeworks and Mission Zero. Whether mineralization can scale faster and cheaper than electrochemical or amine-based methods will determine if Heirloom's cost focus pays off.

CarbonCapture deploys modular DAC units directly at sequestration sites, cutting out the transportation costs that kill margins for competitors.

Founded: 2019 | HQ: Los Angeles, California | Funding: $80M Series A

The Los Angeles company raised $80 million in March 2024 at a $115 million valuation. DCVC invested. CarbonCapture builds modular Direct Air Capture units designed for deployment at sequestration sites. The strategy reduces transportation costs and complexity that have hindered widespread DAC adoption.

Microsoft signed a deal for Project Bison in Wyoming. The company employs approximately 55 people and uses renewable energy with advanced sorbent technology. Co-locating capture and storage infrastructure addresses the scalability challenge that plagues carbon removal technologies. Moving CO2 from capture site to storage site adds cost, risk, and emissions. CarbonCapture eliminates that step.

The modular design means units can be manufactured at scale and deployed wherever suitable geology exists for permanent storage. Founded in 2019, CarbonCapture secured a major corporate partnership with Microsoft within five years. The co-location strategy differentiates it from Climeworks (which operates centralized facilities) and Mission Zero (which sells equipment to third parties).

Noya pivoted its entire technology approach in late 2022, then raised $11 million from Union Square Ventures four months later.

Founded: 2020 | HQ: Oakland, California | Funding: $12.2M total

Union Square Ventures and Collaborative Fund co-led Noya's $11 million Series A in April 2023. Fred Wilson and Sophie Bakalar joined the board. The Oakland company graduated from Y Combinator's Winter 2021 cohort. It originally planned to integrate DAC technology with existing industrial cooling towers, then pivoted to standalone modular systems.

The technology uses abundant, low-cost materials to capture 1,000+ tons of CO2 per deployment. The system removes CO2 on timescales of 1,000+ years for permanent impact. It's water-positive, generating significantly more clean water than it consumes. Shopify, Watershed, and an unnamed university endowment made advance purchases.

Noya was "getting ready to deploy" its cooling tower technology in 2022 when it made a major strategic pivot. Most startups die after pivoting core technology. Noya raised $11 million from top-tier VCs instead. That signals either exceptional founder credibility or a compelling case that the new approach solves problems the old one couldn't. By end of 2023, Noya was on track to deploy its commercial demonstration.

Carbon Upcycling convinced three of the world's largest cement manufacturers to fund technology that turns their CO2 emissions into better concrete.

Founded: 2014 | HQ: Calgary, Canada | Funding: $95.5M CAD total

ATEL Ventures provided up to $10 million USD in secured financing in 2025 for Carbon Upcycling's flagship commercial project at Ash Grove Mississauga Cement Plant west of Toronto. Earlier, Builders Vision led a $24.5 million round. Climate Investment and BDC Capital's Climate Tech Fund co-led the $26 million Series A. CRH Ventures, Cemex Ventures, TITAN Group, and Oxy Low Carbon Ventures all invested.

The patented technology transforms gaseous CO2 into additives that produce greener, more durable concrete. It converts CO2 and industrial byproducts into cost-effective, eco-friendly cement alternatives. Concrete production accounts for 8% of global CO2 emissions. Carbon Upcycling delivered 200 tonnes of CO2-enhanced fly ash to BURNCO Ltd. in 2024 for low-carbon concrete development.

"Scaleable, verifiable carbon reduction technology that can be implemented globally is crucial," said Mike Bishop of Climate Investment. "Eight percent of global CO2 emissions result from the production of cement and concrete. Carbon Upcycling's technology could decarbonize a sizable portion of these sector emissions." The company is a certified B Corporation recognized in the Global Cleantech 100 and Reuters 100 Innovators Leading the Energy Transition.

Strategic partnerships with CRH, Cemex, and TITAN provide clear commercialization pathways. Since 2021, thousands of tonnes of low-carbon cement have been deployed in homes, cities, and communities. The company competes with CarbonCure and CarbiCrete in the Canadian market but has attracted investment from the cement manufacturers themselves.

Seabound ranks first among 37 maritime carbon capture startups with just 3 employees and partnerships with Shell and Caterpillar.

Founded: 2021 | HQ: London, UK | Funding: $10.8M total

The London company raised $6.8 million across multiple rounds from Techstars, Collab Fund, and 14 institutional investors. Seabound builds modular, scalable carbon-capture equipment for ships. The technology captures CO2 emissions from marine engines. Captured CO2 gets collected while docking and sold for use or sequestration.

Seabound conducted a feasibility study with Shell focused on tanker ships. It explored testing its Seabound Container system on large-scale Caterpillar Marine engines at Fraunhofer facilities in Germany. The company participates in working groups of CO2 Value Europe and is part of the Carbon to Value Initiative's Year 4 cohort.

Maritime shipping is a hard-to-abate sector. Modular design allows retrofitting onto existing vessels without major overhauls. Despite having just 3 employees as of mid-2024, Seabound secured partnerships with Shell (one of the world's largest energy companies) and Caterpillar (the dominant marine engine manufacturer). The company stands third in total funding among maritime carbon capture competitors. Shipping accounts for roughly 3% of global emissions.

Parallel Carbon produces green hydrogen AND captures carbon simultaneously, creating two revenue streams from one process.

Founded: 2021 | HQ: Manchester, UK (R&D) / US-based | Funding: $3.77M total

Aramco Ventures (corporate VC of Saudi Aramco, the world's largest energy company with roughly $2.1 trillion market cap) led Parallel Carbon's $3.6 million seed round at COP28 in 2023. Axon Partners Group and Counteract joined. The company officially transitioned to US-based operations to align with Inflation Reduction Act incentives while maintaining R&D in Manchester.

The technology integrates water electrolysis and direct air capture to reduce capital costs and better use low-cost renewable energy. The electrochemical process runs on intermittent electricity, providing advantages over high-temperature DAC pathways. A mineral-based capture medium absorbs CO2. A proprietary electrolyzer creates acids and bases for regeneration while producing green hydrogen as a byproduct.

"Parallel Carbon is commercialising a cost-effective process to simultaneously slash ongoing emissions while removing legacy carbon pollution from the atmosphere," the company states. Projects generate income from clean hydrogen production (significantly reducing emissions versus fossil-derived alternatives) plus carbon removal credits from pairing DAC with permanent storage. The World Economic Forum selected Parallel Carbon for its First Movers Coalition Suppliers Hub.

The company secured lead investment from Saudi Aramco (the world's largest oil company) for carbon capture technology. That represents the oil industry's strategic interest in carbon management solutions, similar to Occidental's acquisition of Carbon Engineering. Parallel Carbon ranks 20th among 76 active competitors and 10th in total funding. The dual-revenue model (hydrogen sales plus carbon credits) could make the economics work where single-revenue DAC companies struggle.

Airhive confirmed sub-$500 per tonne costs while piloting at a Coca-Cola manufacturing site.

Founded: 2022 | HQ: London, UK | Funding: Undisclosed (3 rounds)

Airhive raised funding from IAGi Accelerator, Siemens, Eka Ventures, AP Ventures, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, and Collaborative Fund. The company uses hybrid geochemical-DAC technology using fluidization to deliver fast, low-cost CO2 removal. Sorbent material is electrically heated to release CO2. The fully electrified system runs on 100% renewable energy.

Captured CO2 can be used on-site to carbonate beverages, decaffeinate drinks, preserve foods, or make sustainable aviation and shipping fuels from captured CO2 and green hydrogen. Airhive is capturing carbon and ramping up to 1,000 tonnes per year at Deep Sky Alpha in Canada. It's piloting at a Coca-Cola Europacific Partners manufacturing site, enabling capture of CO2 from atmosphere to replace fossil-fuel-derived carbon dioxide in carbonated drinks.

One of few DAC companies with confirmed sub-$500 per tonne costs. Strategic partnership with Coca-Cola (the world's largest bottler) provides clear commercialization pathway for the beverage carbonation market. Technology offers on-site CO2 production for industrial uses, creating immediate revenue opportunity beyond carbon credits. "DAC has a long way to go, but continued deployments like Airhive's offer hope in the face of ongoing headwinds," reported Global Venturing.

The company employs 2 to 10 people with 19 associated members on LinkedIn. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners produces 3 billion litres of beverages annually. If Airhive can supply even a fraction of that CO2 demand from atmospheric capture rather than fossil sources, it's a meaningful market. The focus on industrial CO2 supply (beverages, food preservation) rather than pure carbon removal credits differentiates Airhive from most DAC competitors.

The smart money is splitting into two camps. One camp backs gigascale DAC facilities like STRATOS and Mammoth that sell carbon removal credits to tech companies with net-zero commitments. The other backs companies like Mission Zero and Airhive that sell CO2 as an industrial feedstock to beverage makers, synthetic fuel producers, and concrete manufacturers.

The feedstock model has faster payback. Companies need CO2 today for existing products. The carbon credit model has bigger long-term potential but depends on corporate willingness to pay $200 to $300 per ton for removal. Microsoft, Google, and Shopify are paying those prices now. Whether that demand scales to gigatons or stalls at a few million tons will determine which business model wins.

Which carbon capture startup has raised the most funding? Climeworks has raised over $1 billion total, more than any other carbon capture company. Its July 2025 round of $162 million was the largest carbon removal investment of 2025 globally.

What's the difference between point-source capture and direct air capture?Point-source capture prevents CO2 from entering the atmosphere by capturing it at industrial facilities like cement plants or power stations. Direct air capture (DAC) removes CO2 that's already in the atmosphere. Point-source is cheaper per ton but only works where concentrated emissions exist. DAC works anywhere but costs more.

How much does carbon capture cost per ton in 2026? Leading projects now capture carbon for less than $300 per ton, with some companies like Airhive confirming sub-$500 costs. Microsoft's deal with Carbon Engineering's STRATOS facility reportedly sits around $200 to $300 per ton for multi-year contracts covering hundreds of thousands of tons. Early pilot projects cost over $600 per ton.

Which industries are the biggest customers for carbon capture? Tech companies (Microsoft, Google, Meta, Shopify) are the largest buyers of carbon removal credits. Cement manufacturers (CRH, Cemex, TITAN) are investing in carbon use technologies. Beverage companies (Coca-Cola) are piloting on-site CO2 capture for carbonation. Synthetic fuel producers need captured CO2 as feedstock.

What policy changes are driving carbon capture investment? The US Inflation Reduction Act provides tax credits making large-scale capture projects financially attractive. Germany committed $7 billion to industrial decarbonization including CCS. The EU Emissions Trading System expanded, increasing compliance costs and pushing industries toward capture solutions. Five US states enacted CCS legislation in 2024.

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