Phlair and CAPTURE: an EIC-backed push to make Direct Air Capture cheaper and grid friendly

The United Nations International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies on 7 September is intended to highlight links between air quality and climate policy. On that date the European Innovation Council Community published a profile of Phlair GmbH, a German start-up supported by the EIC Accelerator that is developing an electrochemical Direct Air Capture technology under the CAPTURE project. The company positions its approach as a low-temperature, fully electric pH-swing process that can run flexibly on intermittent renewable electricity and scale to commercial volumes while cutting current DAC cost premiums.

Why remove CO2 from the air and what scale is needed

Scientific and policy assessments are clear that cutting emissions alone will not be enough to meet stringent climate targets. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that millions to billions of tonnes of additional CO2 removal will be required by mid century depending on the pathway. Phlair refers to an IPCC figure of roughly 6 gigatonnes per year of removals by 2050 required for a 1.5 degree scenario. European policy and modelling cited by the company project a need for hundreds of megatonnes of carbon capture by 2040 with a material role for Direct Air Capture in that mix.

Phlair’s technical approach and how it differs from established DAC methods

Phlair describes an electrochemical, pH-swing process implemented in a modular stack called the Hydrolyzer. The company frames this as a fully electric, low-temperature route intended to be compatible with intermittent behind-the-meter solar and other renewables. The proposition aims to reduce the steep energy and thermal management burdens associated with several incumbent DAC routes that rely on high-temperature heat or energy intensive sorbent cycling.

What the CAPTURE project has delivered so far

CAPTURE is funded under the EIC Accelerator with an EU contribution reported by official project pages of EUR 2,494,672.92. The project runs from 1 November 2024 to 31 October 2026 with the objective of taking the Hydrolyzer from technology readiness level 5 to TRL 7 by building and operating a demonstration plant at the company headquarters in Ismaning, Germany. Phlair has published a list of milestones and achievements to date.

The project reports that the demonstration plant has been commissioned and run for multiple hours to collect performance data. It also reports TÜV certification which indicates that an accredited technical body has assessed elements of safety or technical standards relevant for deployment. The project also reports that the system has demonstrated operation flexible enough to run on intermittent solar input. In parallel Phlair says it has built and tested an A-sample commercial-sized stack that shows uniform compression and scaleable performance characteristics.

Commercial signals and the meaning of offtake agreements

Phlair reports a USD 30 million carbon dioxide removal offtake package with large corporate names listed including Google, JPMorgan, Stripe, H&M and McKinsey. For cleantech developers of nascent removal technologies, signed offtake agreements are an important revenue signal and can de-risk early investment. They are commonly used to show market interest and to underpin fund raising.

A measured view on costs, energy, verification and storage

Phlair states a target of capture costs below €75 per tonne at megatonne scale. That number, if achievable at scale, would materially change the economics of engineered removals. It is important to treat such cost targets as conditional projections that depend on assumptions about capital costs, learning rates, materials sourcing, energy prices, plant capacity factors, and the cost of delivering secure, permanent storage or long term utilization. Independent lifecycle assessments and third party verification will be essential to confirm net removal and to quantify upstream emissions and energy consumption.

Policy and ecosystem context in Europe

The CAPTURE project sits within a wider European policy push to mobilise innovation and industry for both clean air and climate goals. Horizon Europe and the EIC provide grant and coaching support aimed at de‑risking and scaling deep tech. The EIC Business Acceleration Services also offer networking, procurement and investor readiness channels that projects can use to bring pilots to market. At the same time, large scale carbon removal will require industrial build out, clear permitting pathways, long term storage infrastructure and verifiable accounting frameworks able to integrate removal credits into corporate and public climate targets.

What to watch next

Near term evidence to look for includes independent energy and cost per tonne metrics from the demonstration plant under representative operating regimes, lifecycle and supply chain analysis, third party verification of removals and storage, and clarity on contracts for long term CO2 storage. Progress in mass manufacturing of stacks and the ability to reproduce performance across multiple units will be the next major industrial test. Finally, transparency on contract terms of the reported USD 30 million offtake and on timelines for delivery will be important for assessing the path from demonstrator to commercial scale.

Practical takeaways for policymakers and investors

Policymakers should design finance, regulatory and permitting frameworks that reward verified, permanent removals without creating perverse incentives that delay emissions reductions. Investors should seek independent technical due diligence and insist on verified MRV and storage pathways. For technology developers the combined task is to prove repeatable technical performance and to bring down costs through manufacturing scale, while minimising lifecycle emissions and material impacts.

Phlair’s CAPTURE project illustrates the type of engineering innovation the EIC aims to support. The reported progress is notable and demonstrates the value of demonstration funding. The broader challenge is still to translate promising pilot results into cost competitive, durable and verifiable removals at the scales that climate science indicates will be required.

Where to find more information

Official project details including grant ID, EU contribution and project dates are available on the CORDIS and Horizon Europe project pages. The company website provides technical summaries and commercial information. Independent technical notes, lifecycle assessments and third party verification reports are the most useful follow up material for readers who want to assess claimed costs and energy performance.