Direct Air Capture

Direct Air Capture (DAC) is the process of removing carbon dioxide (CO₂) directly from the atmosphere. Unlike point-source capture systems, which treat concentrated industrial emissions, DAC targets diffuse atmospheric CO₂ — enabling removal of both historical and ongoing emissions. It is one of the few technologies capable of delivering carbon-negative outcomes at scale.

Passive Direct Air Capture (PDAC)

Carbon Collect’s MechanicalTree™ represents a new generation of DAC — a Passive Direct Air Capture (PDAC) system that captures CO₂ using natural airflow rather than energy-intensive fans. This approach dramatically reduces energy requirements and simplifies system design, lowering both operating and embodied costs.

The MechanicalTree™ operates through a continuous cycle of adsorption and low-temperature regeneration. CO₂ is collected from ambient air on sorbent materials and released when the system is exposed to a controlled thermal vacuum environment. This low-temperature thermal vacuum swing process, regenerating at temperatures well below 100 °C, allows for highly efficient capture with minimal energy input.

Scientific Foundation and Partnership

The concept of Passive Direct Air Capture was pioneered by Professor Klaus Lackner, who serves as Scientific Advisor to Carbon Collect. As a global authority on carbon removal and Director of the Center for Negative Carbon Emissions at Arizona State University (ASU), Professor Lackner’s decades of research laid the scientific groundwork for the MechanicalTree™.

Carbon Collect and Arizona State University maintain a formal scientific and institutional partnership, with ASU also serving as a shareholder in the company. The foundational ASU patents that underpin the MechanicalTree™ are assigned to Carbon Collect on an exclusive global basis, forming the cornerstone of the company’s intellectual property portfolio. This collaboration unites world-leading academic research with the company’s commercial engineering program, ensuring continued scientific depth and ongoing innovation.

Engineering and Scalability

Each MechanicalTree™ is modular by design, making it adaptable to a wide range of deployment scales — from small clusters to full carbon farms. The system’s lightweight, non-metallic construction supports cost-effective manufacturing, transport, and installation. These engineering choices enable a scalable architecture capable of industrial-scale CO₂ removal while reducing lifecycle emissions.

Utilization and Storage

Captured CO₂ can be permanently stored underground in geological formations or reused as a feedstock for low-carbon products such as concrete, synthetic fuels, or chemicals. This flexibility allows integration with regional carbon-management strategies and emerging carbon-utilization industries.

A Global Approach

Headquartered in Ireland with a wholly-owned subsidiary in the United States, Carbon Collect collaborates with international partners to advance DAC solutions suited to diverse climates and infrastructure conditions. The company’s research and development programs — supported through participation in U.S. Department of Energy initiatives — focus on lowering capture costs and accelerating real-world deployment.