Top 10 Direct Air Capture Companies: Sub-$200 Deals with JPMorgan Chase and $1.4 B Raised (2025 to 2026)
The Direct Air Capture (DAC) market is rapidly maturing from technological demonstrations to a competitive commercial arena where cost is the primary determinant of leadership. The key insight is that bankable, multi-year offtake agreements are now validating economic models, with CO 280’s landmark deal with JPMorgan Chase establishing a new market benchmark of under $200 per ton. This definitive price point challenges the high-cost structure of operational incumbents like Climeworks, whose removals currently cost $500 – $1, 000 per ton. The dominant theme for 2025-2026 is a race for commercial viability, fueled by advance market commitments from corporations like Amazon and United Airlines that de-risk project financing and accelerate scaling. The industry is now split between two strategies: massive, centralized plants for economies of scale, and modular, factory-built systems promising radical cost reductions.
1. CO 280 Secures Sub-$200/ton Offtake Agreement with JPMorgan Chase
Company: CO 280
Installation Capacity: Not specified; focus on commercial agreement price
Applications: Biomass-based Carbon Removal and Storage (Bi CRS)
Source: CO 280 And JPMorgan Chase Sign New CDR Agreement Priced At …
2. Carbyon Plans Pilot Facility Targeting Sub-€100/ton Costs
Company: Carbyon
Installation Capacity: Pilot facility to open in September 2025
Applications: Modular solid sorbent (fast-swing process)
Source: “Why Carbyon is betting on modular manufacturing to scale cheap …
3. Carbon Engineering (1 Point Five) Commences World’s Largest DAC Project
Company: Carbon Engineering (1 Point Five/Occidental)
Installation Capacity: Project STRATOS, targeting 500, 000 tons/year initially
Applications: Liquid solvent (potassium hydroxide) for large-scale capture
Source: Technology Deep Dive: DAC Startups to Watch in 2025
4. Heirloom Targets Million-Ton Scale with Mineralization Approach
Company: Heirloom
Installation Capacity: Phasing in a 1 million ton/year facility through 2027
Applications: Mineralization (calcium carbonate loop)
Source: 15 Top Climate Tech Startups to Watch in 2026 – Visible.vc
5. Carbon Collect Develops Passive “Mechanical Tree™” System
Company: Carbon Collect
Installation Capacity: Not specified; focus on technology development
Applications: Mechanical system designed for lower energy consumption
Source: Carbon collect – Carbon Removal, Engineered for Scale
6. Climeworks Operates Mammoth Plant and Develops Gen 3 Tech
Company: Climeworks
Installation Capacity: Mammoth plant has 36, 000 tons/year capacity
Applications: Solid sorbent technology for direct air capture and storage
Source: Direct Air Capture in 2026: Cost, Scale, and Path to $200/t CO 2
7. Aircapture Secures $50 Million to Scale Modular DAC Systems
Company: Aircapture
Installation Capacity: Not specified; scaling modular systems
Applications: Modular solid sorbent systems
Source: Aircapture Raises $50 M to Scale Modular Direct Air Capture Systems
8. Mission Zero Technologies Focuses on Novel Electrochemical Process
Company: Mission Zero Technologies
Installation Capacity: Not specified; technology in development
Applications: Electrochemical process designed for significant cost reduction
Source: 8 direct air capture startups slashing carbon removal costs
9. Spiritus Develops Low-Energy “Fruit-Picking” Sorbent Vehicle
Company: Spiritus
Installation Capacity: Not specified; technology in development
Applications: Sorbent-based, passive air contact to minimize energy use
Source: 8 direct air capture startups slashing carbon removal costs
10. Deep Sky to Build 500, 000-Tonne Carbon Removal Facility
Company: Deep Sky
Installation Capacity: 500, 000-tonne facility planned in Manitoba, Canada
Applications: Technology-agnostic project developer for carbon removal
Source: Deep Sky to build 500000 tonne carbon removal facility
Table: Top 10 DAC Companies by Cost & Commercial Activity (2025-2026)
| Company | Installation Capacity / Key Milestone | Applications / Approach | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CO 280 | Sub-$200/ton offtake agreement | Biomass-based Carbon Removal and Storage (Bi CRS) | CO 280 And JPMorgan Chase Sign New CDR Agreement Priced At … |
| Carbyon | Pilot facility planned for Sept. 2025 | Modular solid sorbent, targeting sub-€100/ton | “Why Carbyon is betting on modular manufacturing to scale cheap … |
| Carbon Engineering (1 Point Five) | Project STRATOS (500, 000 tons/year target) | Liquid solvent (potassium hydroxide) | Technology Deep Dive: DAC Startups to Watch in 2025 |
| Heirloom | 1 million ton/year facility planned by 2027 | Mineralization (calcium carbonate loop) | 15 Top Climate Tech Startups to Watch in 2026 – Visible.vc |
| Carbon Collect | Developing “Mechanical Tree™” | Mechanical system with passive capture | Carbon collect – Carbon Removal, Engineered for Scale |
| Climeworks | Mammoth plant (36, 000 tons/year) | Solid sorbent | Direct Air Capture in 2026: Cost, Scale, and Path to $200/t CO 2 |
| Aircapture | Secured $50 million in Series A funding | Modular solid sorbent systems | Aircapture Raises $50 M to Scale Modular Direct Air Capture Systems |
| Mission Zero Technologies | Developing novel electrochemical process | Electrochemical | 8 direct air capture startups slashing carbon removal costs |
| Spiritus | Developing low-energy “fruit-picking” vehicle | Sorbent-based, passive air contact | 8 direct air capture startups slashing carbon removal costs |
| Deep Sky | Building 500, 000-tonne facility in Canada | Technology-agnostic project developer | Deep Sky to build 500000 tonne carbon removal facility |
Direct Air Capture Adoption: Corporate Offtake Deals From Amazon Totaling 250, 000 Tonnes
The primary driver for DAC adoption has shifted from government grants to corporate balance sheets. Large, binding purchase agreements from major corporations are the key catalyst creating market certainty. These are not vague pledges; they are structured, multi-year contracts that provide DAC developers with the guaranteed revenue needed to secure project financing. For example, Amazon‘s commitment to purchase 250, 000 metric tonnes from 1 Point Five over 10 years, and United Airlines securing rights to 500, 000 tons from Heirloom, signal a strategic move by buyers to lock in future supply. The diversity of buyers—from finance (JPMorgan Chase) to aviation and retail—demonstrates that DAC is viewed as an essential tool for decarbonization across multiple industries, solidifying its path to becoming a mainstream asset class.
Corporate Purchases Drive Carbon Removal Market
This chart shows the leading corporate buyers of carbon removal, highlighting the trend of large offtake deals discussed in the section. It validates the point that companies like Amazon are key customers providing crucial market certainty for DAC technology.
(Source: Bloomberg News)
North America vs. Europe: Climeworks’ Iceland Plant vs. 1 Point Five’s Texas Project
The DAC market is developing distinct geographical hubs, primarily in North America and Europe, each with unique advantages. North America, particularly the U.S. and Canada, is becoming the center for mega-projects. 1 Point Five’s Project STRATOS in Texas and Deep Sky‘s planned 500, 000-tonne facility in Manitoba leverage vast land availability, favorable geology for sequestration, and supportive policy environments. In contrast, Europe is a hub of technological innovation and first-of-a-kind deployments. Climeworks’ Mammoth plant in Iceland (36, 000 tons/year) capitalizes on the country’s abundant geothermal energy and reactive basaltic rock formations for permanent storage. Meanwhile, companies like Carbyon in the Netherlands are pioneering new modular technologies, benefiting from strong regional R&D ecosystems and climate-focused industrial policy.
Comparing Two Leading Direct Air Capture Projects
This table directly compares the key projects from Climeworks and Carbon Engineering, the two companies central to this section. It visualizes the differences in scale and technology between the European and North American flagship plants discussed in the text.
(Source: Terraform Now)
$1, 000/ton vs Sub-€100/ton: Climeworks and Carbyon’s Divergent DAC Cost Paths
Recent commercial activity reveals a crucial bifurcation in technology maturity and cost strategy. On one side are established players like Climeworks and Carbon Engineering (1 Point Five), whose technologies are commercially deployed at scale but at a high cost ($500-$1, 000/ton). Their path to cost reduction relies on iterative engineering improvements and the economies of scale from building massive, centralized facilities. On the other side is a wave of innovators pursuing radically different cost curves. Carbyon, with its target of under €100/ton, exemplifies a strategy based on modular, factory-manufactured units, aiming to replicate the steep learning rates seen in solar PV manufacturing. Heirloom‘s mineralization and Spiritus‘s passive contact system represent other novel approaches focused on slashing energy inputs and capital costs. The success of CO 280 in securing a sub-$200/ton deal, using a Bi CRS process, proves that the market will reward the most economically viable solution, regardless of the specific technological pathway.
CO 280’s Sub-$200 Price: The New DAC Market Benchmark for 2026?
The single most critical expectation for the DAC market is that future large-scale offtake agreements will be benchmarked against CO 280’s sub-$200/ton price. This new commercial reality will pressure higher-cost providers to accelerate their cost-reduction roadmaps or pivot their business models to compete. Watch for how incumbents respond and whether new deals in 2025-2026 can meet this benchmark.
- Gaining Traction: Binding, large-volume corporate purchase agreements are solidifying as the primary financing mechanism for new DAC projects. The deals announced by JPMorgan Chase, Amazon, and United Airlines in 2025 have established this as the go-to-market model.
- Gaining Traction: Modular, manufacturing-led approaches are attracting significant capital, evidenced by Aircapture’s $50 million funding round and Carbyon’s 2025 pilot launch. Investors are betting that factory-based learning curves will outpace the cost reductions of bespoke, large-scale plants.
- Losing Steam: The strategy of selling high-cost carbon removals without a clear, near-term path to sub-$300/ton prices is losing viability. The market is shifting from paying a premium for technological novelty to demanding commercial competitiveness, placing pressure on players with costs in the $500-$1, 000/ton range.
Comparing Cost and Trade-offs of Removal Methods
This chart contextualizes CO 280’s sub-$200 price by comparing the lower cost of BECCS/BiCRS to the higher cost of DAC. It explains why CO 280, a biomass-based project, can set such a challenging new benchmark for the pure-play DAC market.
(Source: Green Fuel Journal)
The questions your competitors are already asking
This report covers one angle of the commercial race to achieve sub-$200 per ton Direct Air Capture. The questions that matter most depend on your work.
- Which DAC companies are gaining or losing ground in the race for sub-$200 per ton carbon removal?
- How does CO280’s biomass-based approach compare to modular solid sorbent systems for achieving sub-$200/ton costs?
- What is the outlook for commercial DAC deployment by 2026, and which projects are on track for their financing targets?
- Which corporations are adopting multi-year offtake agreements following the JPMorgan Chase sub-$200/ton deal?
This report does not answer these. Enki Brief Pro does.
Your question, your angle, your framework. SWOT, PESTL, scenario modelling. The same niche depth, built around the decision your work actually depends on.
