M&G invests in permanent carbon storage business

M&G has invested CHF600 million (circa £500 million) in Climeworks, a global business operating in direct air capture, to accelerate the company’s growth and help scale the market for carbon removal.

Climeworks’ direct air capture plants capture carbon dioxide from the air, which is either stored in the ground safely and permanently, or upcycled into climate friendly products such as carbon neutral fuels and materials. It is powered solely by renewable energy.

Last September, Climeworks launched its Orca plant in Iceland, the world’s largest direct air capture and storage plant. At this plant with its storage partner Carbfix, carbon dioxide is mixed with water and is pumped deep underground. Here it reacts with the basaltic rock formations to turn into stone, permanently removing the carbon from the atmosphere.

The investment comes from M&G’s Catalyst strategy, which is investing up to £5 billion into innovative privately-owned global businesses focused on sustainability.

Jan Wurzbacher, co-founder and co-CEO of Climeworks, said: “We founded Climeworks with the vision to provide the world with a tech that has the potential to reverse climate change. Accelerating the scale-up of carbon removal capacity will play a crucial role in global efforts to keep global warming under 1.5°C, positively impacting the lives of billions of people. And this is what we will do starting now.”