Groundbreaking ceremony for the new DACMA Competence Center in the Port of Hamburg

The research and development center will serve as a central platform for the further development of modular direct air capture (DAC) plants—a key technology that captures carbon dioxide directly from the ambient air and thus makes a decisive contribution to climate protection.

Hamburg sets an example for climate protection and innovation

At the same time, DACMA announced a major order from Canadian project developer Deep Sky to supply the first DAC plants for a large-scale project in Canada. This milestone underscores Hamburg's role as a center of innovation and demonstrates the economic maturity of CO₂ removal from the atmosphere.

Dr. Melanie Leonhard, Senator for Economics, Labor, and Innovation, emphasized:
“The DACMA Competence Center is an important step for Hamburg: We are extracting carbon dioxide directly from the air and turning it into an opportunity for industry, value creation, and climate protection. Here in the port, Hamburg is showing how ideas become infrastructure and innovation has an international impact.”

Hanspeter Tiede, CEO of eFuel DAC GmbH, explained:
“By capturing CO₂ directly from the air, we are laying the foundation for climate-neutral fuels. The DACMA Competence Center is a crucial step in bringing this technology from the laboratory to industrial application.”

Jörg Spitzner, CEO of DACMA GmbH, added:
“Today's groundbreaking ceremony marks the beginning of a new era: Here, we are developing technologies that can be used worldwide to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere.”

Significance of the DACMA Competence Center
The new test center will:

• improve technical components,
• make operating processes more efficient,
• advance new research topics with international universities and research institutions.
  

In addition, the site will serve as a test center for extensive trials of Generation 2 DAC technology before it is used in international projects – particularly in Canada for partner Deep Sky.

International dimension – cooperation with Deep Sky
Deep Sky plans to build a commercial plant in Canada with an initial capacity of 30,000 tons of CO₂ per year, which will be gradually expanded to 1,000,000 tons. The underlying technology will be provided by DACMA GmbH from Hamburg.This cooperation is a strong signal for international climate policy and expands the strategic energy and hydrogen partnership between Germany and Canada to include carbon dioxide removal (CDR).

PEGASUS project – First project of the Competence Center
The first major project of the Competence Center is PEGASUS, a cooperation between DACMA GmbH, Lother GmbH, and TUHH. The aim is to commercialize DAC technologies and integrate them into port infrastructure. PEGASUS is developing an integrated system for the climate-neutral production of methanol based on atmospheric CO₂ and green hydrogen – a central building block for a climate-friendly energy and chemical industry.
Stakeholders and partners involved

• DACMA GmbH
• eFuel DAC GmbH and eFuel GmbH
• Evos Hamburg GmbH
• Hamburg Port Authority (HPA)
• TUHH – Hamburg University of Technology
• Lother GmbH
• Canadian Embassy  

The DACMA Competence Center in Hamburg is creating a place where responsibility shapes the future. It sends a signal to everyone that technology and cooperation can preserve our environment and create a world worth living in for future generations.