eFUEL Group And DACMA Open Competence Center For Direct Air Capture In The Port Of Hamburg

The new research and development center at the Hamburg Blue Hub combines the testing of modular CO_₂ capture technologies with the preparation of international applications. A key focus is the collaboration with the Canadian
project developer Deep Sky.

The eFUEL GROUP and DACMA GmbH today opened the DACMA Competence Center at the Hamburg Blue Hub. Hamburg’s Senator for Economic Affairs, Dr. Melanie Leonhard, joined company representatives in marking the official launch as part of the Hydrogen and Carbon Capture Technology World Expo. Among the keynote speakers was Evelyne Coulombe from the Canadian Embassy. Her visit underscored the importance of German-Canadian cooperation in the field of CO_₂ capture.

Dr. Melanie Leonhard, Senator for Economic Affairs, Labor, and Innovation: “In Hamburg, we are developing new technologies and bringing them into industrial practice. The DACMA Competence Center creates new opportunities for this. Here, companies and research institutions can work together to explore how CO_₂ from the ambient air can be used as a raw material for industry. This also aids in the development of synthetic fuels that will be needed in the future for aviation and shipping. With this expertise, we are strengthening Hamburg as a hub for innovation and industry and laying the groundwork for the emergence of new business models and industrial applications here.”

Direct Air Capture (DAC) refers to the capture of CO_₂ from the ambient air. The captured CO_₂ can be used as a carbon source for synthetic fuels and other chemical products, or it can be permanently stored geologically. In the case of permanent storage, the process can contribute to the net removal of CO_₂ from the atmosphere provided that the emissions from the entire process chain are lower than the amount of CO_₂ stored.

At the DACMA Competence Center, modular DAC systems are tested under real-world industrial conditions. The focus is on investigating technical components and materials, as well as analyzing operational processes and energy and material flows. In collaboration with international universities and research institutions, the goal is to develop approaches for technical optimization. German-Canadian Collaboration for International DAC Projects DACMA and the Canadian project developer Deep Sky are working together on the further development and deployment of direct air capture technology in Canada. The partnership includes an initial DACMA facility with a planned capture capacity of 600 metric tons of CO_₂ per year, as well as the joint development of the next generation of technology for larger facilities. Deep Sky combines the capture of CO_₂ from the ambient air with its permanent geological storage.

Deep Sky has set a goal for its future large-scale facilities to remove one million metric tons of CO_₂ from the atmosphere each year. This figure represents a target for future expansion, not a removal capacity that has already been achieved. What matters for the climate is how much CO_₂ is permanently removed after deducting emissions from construction, operation, transportation, and storage: A verified net removal of one million metric tons would remove this amount of CO_₂ from the atmosphere each year. Unlike emissions avoidance, the process therefore targets CO_₂ that is already present in the atmosphere. Evelyne Coulombe praised the partnership between DACMA and Deep Sky as a milestone in German-Canadian cooperation and as a groundbreaking impetus for both countries’ joint commitment to decarbonization. “The decarbonization of industry is a challenge, but also an opportunity. Canada offers ideal conditions for climate-friendly production. Companies benefit from clean electricity and access to raw materials. CO_₂ storage capacity and infrastructure, as well as a stable investment environment. To achieve the net-zero climate goal, the removal of CO_₂ from the air will become increasingly important. Canada has the infrastructure, the legal framework, and the financing instruments to successfully decarbonize industrial production.”

“At Deep Sky, we focus on bringing the world’s best technologies for direct air capture (DAC) to an industrial scale. Our collaboration with DACMA demonstrates what is possible when companies work together across borders to develop and scale the technologies needed to build a global carbon capture industry. The Competence Center in Hamburg underscores our shared vision: Practical application is the crucial step toward understanding how the technologies function under real-world conditions and building on that knowledge as we prepare to bring DACMA’s first plant to Deep Sky,” says Alex Petre, CEO of Deep Sky.

“How the technology performs in ongoing operation is crucial for the further development of our plants. The DACMA Competence Center enables us to feed insights from testing directly back into development. This allows us to base technical decisions on a broader data set,” says Alexander Backs, CO-CEO of DACMA GmbH.

“Direct Air Capture is a pragmatic and easily implementable supplement for achieving climate goals with a very significant impact. The DACMA Competence Center creates the conditions necessary to further develop this proven technology and to test the integration of CO_₂ capture into downstream production processes. With the negative emissions generated by this technology, Hamburg could realistically achieve the goals of the Climate Decision without jeopardizing jobs in Hamburg’s industrial sector,” explains Hanspeter Tiede, Managing Director of eFuel DAC GmbH. As part of the eFUEL GROUP, the company specializes in investments in projects and technologies for CO_₂ capture from ambient air. “To produce eFuels, eSAF, and eMethanol, we need to combine renewable energy, hydrogen, and suitable carbon sources. Our focus is therefore on integrating DAC into these production chains. Together with DACMA, we want to investigate the interfaces between CO_₂ supply and downstream processing,” says Lorenz Kiene, Managing Director of the eFUEL GROUP.

PEGASUS – Integrating DAC and eMethanol Production In the PEGASUS project, DACMA, eFuel DAC GmbH, and the Technical University of Hamburg (TUHH) are investigating the integration of atmospheric CO_₂ into an eMethanol process chain. Experimental work on DAC technology is supplemented by simulations that consider CO_₂ capture, hydrogen from renewable sources, and methanol synthesis together. The research analyzes how energy, heat, and material flows can be coordinated and what effects this has on the efficiency and economic viability of the process chain.

The PEGASUS Research Project
The DACMA Competence Center’s initiatives also include the PEGASUS project, a collaboration between DACMA, eFuel DAC GmbH, and the Technical University of Hamburg (TUHH). The project focuses on the experimental advancement of DAC technology and the investigation of its integration into an eMethanol process chain that uses atmospheric CO_₂ as a carbon source. Accompanying process simulations examine the interaction between CO_₂ capture, hydrogen from renewable sources, and methanol synthesis. The goal is to identify ways to coordinate energy, heat, and material flows, thereby improving the efficiency and economic viability of the integrated process chain.