Zurich-based Climeworks, a company offering CO2 removal as a service via direct air capture (DAC) technology, and the LEGO Group, a manufacturer of play materials, have entered a nine-year agreement to remove CO2 from the air permanently.
The LEGO Group has entered a $2.4M (approximately €2.21M) agreement to incorporate carbon removal into its initiatives, aligning with climate science (IPCC) and industry guidance (SBTi).
KIRKBI, additionally, secured Climeworks’ carbon removal services with a $405,000 long-term agreement.
Annette Stube, Chief Sustainability Officer at the LEGO Group, says, “We want children to inherit a healthy planet – and we’re determined to play our part in making that happen. To succeed we must take action to drive systemic change.”
“We were the first large toy company to announce a science-based emissions reduction target in 2020 and we want to continue to lead the way in finding innovative solutions for the challenges we face.”
“This is why we are working with innovators like Climeworks – their technology, as part of a varied programme of initiatives, can help us and society as a whole realise the net-zero future that is needed to protect our planet for generations to come.”
Aim of the acquisition
Climeworks is known for effectively removing CO2 from the air, aiding companies in tackling challenging CO2 emissions.
The long-term agreements with the LEGO Group and KIRKBI play a vital role in facilitating Climeworks’ journey to scale up CO2 removal, aiming at megaton and, eventually, gigaton levels by 2050.
Michael Skou, KIRKBI’s Head of Strategy and Sustainability, says, “In addition to our ongoing efforts to reduce own emissions, we want to explore and support impactful climate solutions that have the potential to permanently remove and sequester hard-to-abate greenhouse gas emissions.”
“Through our long-term partnership with Climeworks, we hope to be a part of scaling a promising and innovative technology that can make a difference in tackling climate change.”
The LEGO Group and KIRKBI’s purchase of high-quality CO2 removal services show the importance of beyond value chain mitigation, as encouraged by the latest guidance from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
Jan Huckfeldt, Chief Commercial Officer of Climeworks, says, “We’re proud to partner with a sustainability leader like the LEGO Group who takes bold steps to make net zero happen. We see demand growing across diverse sectors, including consumer goods, which shows that carbon removal rightly has a place in every company’s net zero strategy.”
Climeworks is rapidly expanding to meet increasing demand, with its second large-scale direct air capture and storage facility, Mammoth, set to launch in May.
The company is expanding its presence globally, with projects underway in the US, where all three of its DAC Hub projects were selected by the Department of Energy in 2023. Additionally, expansion efforts extend to Canada and Kenya, marking Climeworks’ international growth.
Brief about Climeworks
Founded in 2009 by engineers Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher, Climeworks aims to make a significant climate impact by inspiring 1 billion people to take action and remove CO2 from the air.
The company offers carbon dioxide removal through direct air capture (DAC) technology, enabling individuals and businesses to combat global warming.
At their Orca facility in Iceland, CO2 is permanently removed from the air and stored geologically with partner Carbfix. Climeworks’ DAC facilities operate solely on clean energy, utilising modular CO2 collectors that can be scaled to any capacity.
