Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister, opened Climeworks' first Direct Air Capture (DAC) testing facility at the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) in Riyadh on Sunday. Now in service, this mobile machine is Climeworks' first deployment outside of colder regions like Iceland. It collects CO₂ straight from the air.
The project supports the Kingdom's Circular Carbon Economy (CCE) framework and larger climate goals by testing DAC performance in the hot, dry climate of Saudi Arabia. Following a 2024 Memorandum of Understanding between Climeworks and KAPSARC at the Saudi Green Initiative Forum, the project is a component of a feasibility assessment.
KAPSARC is an essential partner in furthering Saudi Arabia's net-zero goals because of its proficiency in carbon capture research and policy analysis. The report also looks into DAC technology's possibilities in domestic supply chains.
This deployment is in line with Saudi Arabia's national goal to use large-scale CCUS hubs to absorb and use up to 44 million tons of CO₂ annually by 2035. The Kingdom is positioned as a global leader in next-generation climate technologies due to its strategic location, robust infrastructure, and access to renewable energy.
