Capturing CO₂ from the atmosphere

Cutting CO2 emissions is essential. But on its own, it will not be enough to meet global climate targets. Bosch Research is exploring a new generation of Direct Air Capture technologies designed to continuously remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. Efficiently, at scale and with the potential to achieve net negative CO₂ emissions in future.

For decades, climate action has focused primarily on one goal: preventing carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. That remains the most important lever: energy systems are transitioning to renewables, mobility is being electrified and industrial processes are becoming more efficient. But there is another side to the equation. Even in a largely defossilized future world, some emissions will be extremely difficult to avoid. Furthermore, the human-made CO₂ already accumulated in the atmosphere will not disappear on its own.

Climate change represents one of the most crucial economic, societal and technical challenges of our time. Climate models demonstrate that the target set by the 2015 Paris Agreement — limiting global warming to well below two degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels — cannot be met solely by avoiding new emissions. Humanity will also need negative emissions: the physical removal of CO₂ from the atmosphere, regardless of where or when it was emitted.

As of 2026, global anthropogenic emissions will reach almost 40 gigatons of CO₂ per year. Defossilizing energy and mobility systems and driving industrial efficiency remain the primary levers for reaching carbon neutrality. For example, CO₂ point-source capture addresses concentrated exhaust gases from power plants and industrial facilities (predominantly fossil-fueled), thereby playing an essential role in reducing emissions on the path to net zero. Another important approach toward CO₂ neutrality is Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) through nature]-based solutions (NBS), such as afforestation and restoration of peatlands — both representing important but vulnerable biological carbon sinks.

Nonetheless, significant residual emissions of about 10 gigatons are expected to persist in 2050. Compensating these hard-to-abate emissions will require technological CDR solutions, such as Direct Air Capture (DAC) combined with permanent geological sequestration. From 2050 onwards, further CO₂ will need to be removed from the atmosphere — tackling at least parts of our historical emissions. These legacy emissions are responsible for climate impacts that are already noticeable today, which will continue to intensify until atmospheric CO₂ concentrations are reduced to a tolerable level.

The political direction is clear. Under the European Green Deal, the EU’s 27 member states have committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2050, with an interim target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Against this backdrop, Bosch Research is advancing CDR technologies with a focus on Direct Air Capture (DAC).

DAC describes engineered processes that remove carbon dioxide directly from ambient air. Once captured, the high-purity CO₂ can be compressed and transported. It can then either be permanently stored in suitable geological formations, an approach known as Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACSS), or used as a carbon feedstock in industrial processes, referred to as Direct Air Carbon Capture and Utilization (DACCU).

Capturing CO₂ from ambient air is anything but ordinary, the challenge is immense: atmospheric CO₂ is highly dilute, currently averaging just 425 parts per million (ppm). At the molecular level, a DAC system acts like a highly selective chemical sieve. As ambient air passes through, the tailored capture material selectively traps the CO₂ molecules. Due to its chemical nature, it does not filter completely selectively, but also adsorbs humidity, which must be considered in the process. Meanwhile, nitrogen, oxygen, and noble gases flow through unhindered, leaving the exhaust air with a significantly lower CO₂ and water content.

Together with biogenic CDR approaches – such as BECCS (Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage) and BiCRS (Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage) – the particular advantage of DAC is the potential to enable a world of net-negative emissions rather than merely carbon neutrality (“net zero”). In addition, DAC offers important systemic advantages: it can operate independently of the original emission source, allowing facilities to be deployed at locations optimal for energy supply, transport, and storage. While both utilization (DACCU) and storage (DACCS) pathways help reduce emissions, only DACCS offers the distinct advantage of high permanence. If the captured CO₂ is safely stored geologically for centuries, if not millennia, it cannot contribute to further global warming anymore.

To achieve the necessary scale and energy efficiency, Bosch Research is advancing continuous Low-Temperature Direct Air Capture (LT-DAC) using solid sorbents. Unlike conventional batch processes, which require energy-intensive, cyclical heating and cooling of the entire reactor chamber, this innovative approach operates continuously. A steadily moving sorbent material — such as small porous beads whose surfaces are functionalized with amine groups – circulates through the system.

Fans continuously propel ambient air through the adsorption zone. While CO₂ chemically binds to the amine groups functionalized on the sorbent surface, ambient moisture is co-adsorbed in parallel. Once the sorbent reaches its target loading, it leaves the adsorption zone and enters a sealed desorption zone. Here, low-grade thermal energy of approximately 100 °C and low pressure[BR2.1] are applied simultaneously. This breaks the molecular bonds, releasing a continuous stream of CO₂ and water vapor. After condensation and water separation, high-purity CO₂ remains. The regenerated sorbent material is cooled and transported back into the adsorption zone, thus closing the cycle. This continuous, steady-state operation improves both energy efficiency and throughput — two key factors for the economic viability of Direct Air Capture.

As a strategic cornerstone of its climate protection portfolio, Bosch Research is steadily advancing the continuous DAC technology toward market maturity. In addition to optimizing the core separation process, our research team also analyzes and evaluates market entry dynamics, scaling bottlenecks and potential partnerships along the entire CO₂ value chain. As carbon pricing mechanisms evolve over the coming decade, declining capture costs will pave the way for both permanent sequestration and the utilization of CO₂ as a circular feedstock for sustainable industries.

_{Sources:
¹ https://gml.noaa.gov/aggi/aggi.html
² https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/global.html
³ https://climate.copernicus.eu/global-climate-highlights-2025
⁴ IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023
⁵ https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-cumulative-co2?tab=map&time=2024&mapSelect=~DEUhttps://ourworldindata.org/profile/co2/Germany}