Who is Project Cypress?
Project Partners
The experienced team behind Project Cypress comprises three global leaders in applied science, technology, and Direct Air Capture (DAC), with support from other providers, contractors, and suppliers as needed.
Technology lead for Project Cypress Southwest
Founded in 2009 by engineers Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher, Climeworks has become a pioneer in DAC through deploying technology that uses powerful fans to pull existing, excess CO2 directly out of the atmosphere and into containers where it is captured and heated for collection.
In 2021, Climeworks launched the world’s first-ever commercial DAC facility in Iceland. The Orca plant is responsible for removing 4,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere annually.
In 2022, Climeworks broke ground on its second commercial DAC facility, Mammoth, which is nearly 10x the size of Orca. Mammoth opened for operations just 18 months later in 2024 with a nameplate capacity of up to 36,000 tons per year. Climeworks will deploy its technology at the Project Cypress Southwest facility.
Prime contractor for Project Cypress that will lead project management
Battelle is the world’s largest, independent, nonprofit applied science and technology organization that conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers.
Technology lead for Project Cypress Northwest
Heirloom is a California-based DAC developer, founded by Shashank Samala in 2020, whose technology uses the natural properties of limestone to draw existing CO2 directly from the atmosphere for safe, permanent, and highly monitored storage deep underground.
Since then, it has begun commercializing DAC technology across the U.S., launching America’s first DAC facility in California in 2023 to capture roughly 1,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere annually. Heirloom will deploy its technology at the Project Cypress Northwest facility.
U.S. Government Partner
Department of Energy Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations
Project Cypress was selected as a funding recipient under the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Regional DAC Hubs program. The Project Cypress team works closely with DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) on all components of the project.