# ICYMI... HIBT Lab! Climeworks: Jan Wurzbacher

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2023-03-30
- Length: 38m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-03-30-icymi-hibt-lab-climeworks-jan-wurzbacher

## Summary

Jan Wurzbacher, co-founder and CEO of Climeworks, explains how his company is building the world's largest direct air capture facility, the Orca plant in Iceland, which removes 4,000 tons of CO2 annually. He details the technology's modular design, using filter materials that capture CO2 and release it when heated, allowing for permanent underground storage in basaltic rock. Wurzbacher discusses the company's journey from selling CO2 to greenhouses and Coca-Cola to securing $650 million in Series 6 funding to scale operations. He argues that while emission reductions are critical, removing 10 billion tons of CO2 yearly by 2050 requires scalable technological solutions like Climeworks, which he compares to the rapid cost reduction seen in solar PV.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-03-30-icymi-hibt-lab-climeworks-jan-wurzbacher#t=0) Introduction: Jan Wurzbacher and Climeworks
- [4:15](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-03-30-icymi-hibt-lab-climeworks-jan-wurzbacher#t=255) Background: ETH Zurich and founding the company
- [6:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-03-30-icymi-hibt-lab-climeworks-jan-wurzbacher#t=404) Technology: Direct air capture and filter mechanics
- [14:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-03-30-icymi-hibt-lab-climeworks-jan-wurzbacher#t=842) Early Business: Selling CO2 to greenhouses and Coca-Cola
- [18:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-03-30-icymi-hibt-lab-climeworks-jan-wurzbacher#t=1118) Orca Plant: Modular containers and underground storage
- [20:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-03-30-icymi-hibt-lab-climeworks-jan-wurzbacher#t=1250) Financing: Series 6 round and scaling challenges
- [25:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-03-30-icymi-hibt-lab-climeworks-jan-wurzbacher#t=1530) Scale: 750,000 containers needed for 1% global emissions
- [29:41](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-03-30-icymi-hibt-lab-climeworks-jan-wurzbacher#t=1781) Iceland Operations: Geothermal energy and storage
- [31:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-03-30-icymi-hibt-lab-climeworks-jan-wurzbacher#t=1868) Customers: Corporate offsets and private subscriptions

## Topics

- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Climeworks (company)
- Orca plant (product)
- ETH Zurich (other)
- Coca-Cola (company)
- Microsoft (company)
- Shopify (company)
- Audi (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Using Cooling Towers to Scale Atmospheric CO2 Removal with Silvain Toromanoff, Co-Founder and CTO of NeoCarbon](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-06-08-using-cooling-towers-to-scale-atmospheric-co2-removal-with-silvain-toromanoff-co) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Fostering a Circular Carbon Economy with Direct Air Capture: Insights from Rob van Straten of Skytree](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2024-11-21-fostering-a-circular-carbon-economy-with-direct-air-capture-insights-from-rob-va) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [DAC’s bumpy road to commercial scale](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-10-03-dacs-bumpy-road-to-commercial-scale) (Catalyst)
- [A Sustainable Approach to Direct Air Capture with Noah McQueen, Head of Research & Co-Founder of Heirloom](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2022-07-07-a-sustainable-approach-to-direct-air-capture-with-noah-mcqueen-head-of-research) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Scalability, Sustainability, and Cost Efficiency in Direct Air Capture (DAC) for CO2 Removal with Julian Turecek of AspiraDAC](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-10-26-scalability-sustainability-and-cost-efficiency-in-direct-air-capture-dac-for-co2) (Hardware to Save a Planet)

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