The $650 million is the largest sum secured by a carbon capture company to scale up its technology. Some of its investors include private equity group Partners Group AG and managers of long-term capital such as and Baille Gifford and Swiss Re AG.

This comes after a major United Nations report published April 4th stressed the importance of carbon capture technology to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Climeworks will use the funds to construct a 40,000- ton capture plant within the next three years. The plant will potentially capture more than a million tons of CO2 a year by 2030, according to Chief Executive Officer Christof Gebald.

Easy Access to Low-cost Green Energy

The Swiss company run the world’s largest direct-air capture plant in Iceland. Currently the plant can capture around 4,000 tons each year, which is almost the yearly emissions of 600 people living in Europe. To tackle carbon emissions to meet global goals by 2050, the startup will need to ramp up its operations.

How the Carbon Capture Technology Works

The Climeworks machines use a fan to suck air into a collector. The carbon dioxide is absorbed into highly selective filters which sit in the collectors.

High temperatures between 80 and 100 degrees Celsius are applied which release the co2 in its pure form. The CO2 is then mixed with water and then pumped underground.