Climeworks to remove 40,000 tons of CO2 from the air for Morgan Stanley

The financial services provider Morgan Stanley has commissioned Climeworks to remove a total of 40,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere by 2037. According to a press release issued by the Cleantech firm with headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, and Austin in the US State of Texas, this is the second largest contract in the company’s history. It is hoped that this project will help the spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) to accelerate its stateside expansion plans.

In the USA, Climeworks is the lead technology provider for the Project Cypress Direct Air Capture (DAC) center in the US state of Louisiana, which is funded by the US government’s bipartisan infrastructure bill. The project will be one of the first megaton hubs in the country. Climeworks already operates the two DAC plants Orca and Mammoth in Iceland.

"Orca and Mammoth represent just the beginning of a future trillion-dollar industry and Morgan Stanley understands the benefits of entering the market today”, states Christoph Gebald, co-founder and co-CEO of Climeworks. After all, as Gebald explains further, investing in carbon removal measures is more than merely an environmental responsibility – it is a “strategic business move” to get ahead of regulatory changes and competitive pressures.

Morgan Stanley is striving to hit its net zero target by 2050 and intends to mobilize a total of 1 trillion US dollars overall by 2030. “As a financial institution, Morgan Stanley plays an important role in helping to direct capital toward low-carbon solutions”, comments Jessica Alsford, Chief Sustainability Officer of Morgan Stanley, adding that “through our partnership with Climeworks, we are supporting the development of technology that can help drive the global economy’s transition to a more sustainable future”. ce/mm