Top 10 DAC Companies by Cost, CO 280’s sub-$200 deal with JPMorgan, and Climeworks’ $1.0 B raise (2024-2026)

The Direct Air Capture (DAC) market is aggressively pursuing cost reductions to fall below the $200/ton commercial viability threshold, a critical pivot point for climate technology. New entrants are demonstrating tangible progress toward this goal, challenging established players. Key indicators include CO 280‘s landmark offtake agreement with JPMorgan Chase priced at under $200 per ton and Heirloom Carbon Technologies‘ active pursuit of a sub-$108/ton cost curve. This progress contrasts sharply with market leader Climeworks, whose current carbon removal credits are sold in the $600 to $1, 000 per ton range. The dominant theme for 2025 is a strategic market bifurcation: massive, centralized plants like Occidental’s Stratos are being developed alongside modular, decentralized units. This activity is supercharged by powerful policy incentives, notably the $180/ton 45 Q tax credit in the U.S., and robust corporate demand from leaders like Microsoft, which purchased 93% of global carbon removals in a recent year.

1. Sustaera

Company: Sustaera
Capacity: Path to sub-$100/ton
Application: Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)
Source: DAC Breakthrough Unlocks 3 x Cheaper Carbon Removal Projects

2. Spiritus

Company: Spiritus
Capacity: Targeting under $100/ton
Application: Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)
Source: Spiritus Targets $100 Per Ton Carbon Capture Breakthrough

3. Heirloom Carbon Technologies

Company: Heirloom Carbon Technologies
Capacity: Targeting below €100/ton (~$108/ton)
Application: Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)
Source: The 5 Best Direct Air Capture Carbon Credit Projects of 2026

4. CO 280

Company: CO 280
Capacity: Offtake price under $200/ton
Application: Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)
Source: CO 280 And JPMorgan Chase Sign New CDR Agreement Priced At …

5. Carbon Engineering (Occidental)

Company: Carbon Engineering (Occidental)
Capacity: Rumored contracts in the $400/ton range
Application: Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)
Source: The Mammoth Failure of Direct Air Capture | The Future is Electric

6. Climeworks

Company: Climeworks
Capacity: $600-$1, 000/ton (current); target $250–$350/ton by 2030
Application: Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)
Source: Climeworks’ $162 Million Boosts DAC Scaling to Slash Carbon …

7. NEG 8 Carbon

Company: NEG 8 Carbon
Capacity: €500-€1, 000/ton
Application: Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)
Source: How NEG 8 Carbon is making direct air capture economically viable

8. Global Thermostat

Company: Global Thermostat
Capacity: Estimated $500-$1, 000/ton
Application: Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)
Source: Will Direct Air Capture Ever Cost Less Than $100 Per Ton Of CO₂?

9. Carbon Capture Inc.

Company: Carbon Capture Inc.
Capacity: Aligned with ~$646/ton average offtake price
Application: Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)
Source: Understanding Direct Air Capture Carbon Removal – Senken

10. Avnos, Inc.

Company: Avnos, Inc.
Capacity: Estimated $600-$1, 000/ton (initial)
Application: Hybrid DAC and Water Production
Source: Capturing the First Gigaton of CDR: Milestones and Mistakes to Avoid

Table: DAC Companies by Cost Per Ton

$1.4 B in Funding, DAC’s Push for Commercial Scale

The primary application driving Direct Air Capture adoption is the sale of high-quality carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits to corporate buyers and governments. This narrow focus belies the intense technological competition underneath. The diversity of approaches—from Climeworks’ solid sorbents and Carbon Engineering’s liquid solvents to Heirloom’s accelerated mineralization and Avnos’s novel water-producing system—indicates a sector in a state of rapid innovation. Rather than diversifying applications, companies are diversifying technology pathways to solve the core challenge of cost. The market’s adoption pattern is defined by high-value offtake agreements, like the one between CO 280 and JPMorgan Chase, which serve as bankable validation for specific technologies and de-risk capital investment for scaling up.

Top DAC Startups Raise $1.4 Billion

This chart identifies the leading DAC startups by total funding, directly matching the $1.4B figure in the section heading. It highlights the significant venture capital flowing into companies like Climeworks and Heirloom.

(Source: The NatureTech Memos)

USA Leads DAC with 45 Q Tax Credit and Stratos Plant

The United States has firmly established itself as the geographic center for scaling Direct Air Capture, driven by unparalleled policy support. The Inflation Reduction Act’s 45 Q tax credit, providing up to $180 per ton for permanent CO₂ storage, has created a powerful economic incentive that no other region currently matches. This has catalyzed massive projects like Occidental’s Stratos plant in Texas, which will use technology from Canadian firm Carbon Engineering to capture 500, 000 tonnes per year. While Swiss company Climeworks operates the largest current plants (Mammoth and Orca) in Iceland, the U.S. is the clear destination for future megaton-scale deployments. The presence of numerous innovators like Heirloom, Spiritus, and Carbon Capture Inc. further solidifies the U.S. as the primary hub for both technological development and large-scale commercialization.

Chart Compares Stratos and Mammoth DAC Plants

This chart details the operational model of the Stratos plant, which is a key project mentioned in the section as an example of US leadership. It contrasts its partnership-heavy approach with Climeworks’ more integrated model.

(Source: Terraform Now)

DAC Maturity, Climeworks’ 81% Market Share vs. Sub-$200 Innovators

The DAC market displays a distinct split in technological maturity. Climeworks represents the vanguard of commercial deployment, having delivered an estimated 81% of all DAC-based carbon credits to date through its operational plants. However, this leadership comes at a high cost, with credits priced between $600 and $1, 000 per ton. This established-but-expensive technology is now being challenged by a second wave of innovators. Companies like Sustaera, Spiritus, and Heirloom are focusing on novel chemical and mechanical processes with credible pathways to sub-$100/ton costs. Meanwhile, Carbon Engineering, through its partnership with Occidental, represents a push for massive scale with more mature technology, aiming to drive down costs through sheer volume. This landscape shows that while the technology is proven, the race to make it economically scalable is just beginning.

DAC Cost Reduction Path to Sub-$100/Tonne

The infographic illustrates the projected cost decline for DAC, from over $1,000/ton today to a sub-$100/ton target. This visualizes the market split between expensive current technology and cheaper future innovations discussed in the section.

(Source: IDTechEx)

2026 DAC Outlook: Heirloom and CO 280 Challenge Sub-$200 Target

For 2026, the most critical indicator to watch will be the operational cost and performance data from the first wave of large-scale and novel technology plants, which will validate or reset cost-down projections across the industry.

• If offtake agreements for future delivery continue to be signed below the $200/ton mark, as seen with CO 280 and JPMorgan Chase in May 2025, watch for increased venture capital and private equity flowing into second-generation DAC technologies, potentially sidelining incumbents with higher cost structures.
• If operational data from Occidental’s Stratos plant confirms costs near the rumored $400/ton range, this could signal that the industry’s path to sub-$200/ton at megaton scale is more challenging than models predict, placing more emphasis on modular and novel approaches like Heirloom’s.
• If Climeworks’ Generation 3 technology, targeting $250–$350 per ton by 2030, shows successful pilot results in 2025-2026, watch for a potential re-consolidation of the market around the incumbent leader, demonstrating that iterative improvement on existing deployed tech can compete with disruptive new entrants.

DAC Plant Capacity Set to Scale After 2025

This chart shows a major shift from small-scale to large-scale DAC plants is planned after 2025. This directly supports the section’s outlook that 2026 will be a critical year for validating new cost models.

(Source: AlliedOffsets)

The questions your competitors are already asking

This report covers one angle of the race to commercialize sub-$200/ton Direct Air Capture. The questions that matter most depend on your work.

• Which companies are gaining or losing ground in the race to deliver sub-$200/ton Direct Air Capture?
• With new entrants like CO 280 signing sub-$200/ton deals, is Climeworks’ scale-up on track to reduce costs from its current $600-$1000/ton range?
• How do modular DAC units from companies like Heirloom compare to centralized plants like Occidental’s Stratos for achieving cost reductions below the $200/ton threshold?

This report does not answer these. Enki Brief Pro does.

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