Siemens has partnered with German climate technology firm Ucaneo to industrialise electrochemical Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology, with Siemens acting as Ucaneo’s preferred automation and digitalisation partner under the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio.

The collaboration aims to create a standardised, globally replicable automation platform that will allow Ucaneo and its licensed operators to deploy DAC facilities at scale. By 2035, Ucaneo targets the annual capture of half a gigaton of CO2 — roughly equivalent to Canada’s total annual emissions.

Electrochemical process inspired by the human lung

Ucaneo’s DAC technology uses an electrochemical process to extract CO2 directly from ambient air, delivering output at over 99.9 percent purity. The fully electrified system integrates with renewable energy sources and can respond to real-time grid conditions and power market pricing. Captured CO2 can be permanently stored to generate certified negative emissions or used as a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), methanol, and food and beverage applications.

The company’s first industrial plant in Berlin, with a nameplate capacity of 150 metric tons of CO2 per year, is set to commission in July 2026 and become Germany’s largest DAC facility upon launch. It will also be the country’s first verified DAC project combined with geological storage — and one of only a handful worldwide. A follow-on commercial plant with approximately ten times the capacity is already in development.

Siemens Xcelerator delivering automation and digital tools

Under the partnership, Siemens is providing process automation, instrumentation and analytics, drive technology, and digitalisation services. Its process simulation software and controllers are already deployed at Ucaneo’s pilot plant. Future phases will incorporate Siemens’ Simatic PCS neo distributed control system, enabling full process validation in a virtual environment before physical commissioning — reducing technical risk during scale-up.

The strategic goal is a modularly scalable automation template replicable across Ucaneo’s future plants and those of licensed operators worldwide, accelerating global rollout while maintaining capital efficiency.

“What Ucaneo has built is exactly what the energy transition needs: a Direct Air Capture process that is efficient, fully electrified, and ready for industrial scale. Our role is to take that innovation from first plant to global rollout — through a standardised automation template that accelerates every subsequent deployment.” — Christian Guckel, Head of Vertical Chemicals, Siemens Digital Industries

Regulatory tailwinds accelerate industrial CO2 demand

Demand for sustainably sourced CO2 is rising across aviation, chemicals, and food production. The EU’s ReFuelEU initiative mandates that e-kerosene account for 1.2 percent of all jet fuel at EU airports by 2030, rising to 35 percent by 2050. The EU Carbon Removal Certification Framework is also establishing a certification pathway for permanent carbon removal credits, creating a second commercial revenue stream for DAC operators alongside direct CO2 sales.