UBS announced today the launch of new long-term collaborations with Swiss-based carbon removal solutions companies Climeworks and neustark, aimed at enabling the removal of 39,500 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere over the next 13 years, and helping to scale the startups’ technologies and infrastructure.

According to UBS, the agreements will form part of the company’s commitment to achieve net zero emissions from its operations by 2025. Earlier this year UBS published its Climate Report, outlining the company’s roadmap to achieve its climate targets, which include reaching net zero across scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2025, and across all scopes by 2050.

Sabine Keller-Busse, President UBS Switzerland said:

“Switzerland has a long tradition of promoting innovation and we are delighted to be supporting these pioneering solutions from two Swiss companies. Sustainability continues to be at the top of our clients’ agendas and, in order to be a credible partner, it is important that we demonstrate our continued commitment when it comes to the sustainability of our own business activities.”

Zurich-based Climeworks has emerged as a leading Direct Air Capture (DAC) provider. DAC technology, listed by the IEA as a key carbon removal option in the transition to a net zero energy system, extracts CO2 directly from the atmosphere for use as a raw material or permanently removed when combined with storage. Climeworks recently completed a $650 million capital raise aimed at supporting its DAC capacity expansion, and announced the launch of “Mammoth,”  its largest project to date, with anticipated CO2 capture capacity of 36,000 tonnes per year.

Climeworks also recently signed a long-term carbon removal agreement with Microsoft. According to Climeworks, the guaranteed demand provided through long-term agreements will help catalyze the financing of infrastructure to accelerate the growth of its solutions.

Christoph Gebald, co-founder and co-CEO of Climeworks, said:

“We are delighted to enter this long-term agreement with UBS. In the past months, the number of multi-year carbon removal agreements has increased rapidly. Such long-term commitments are central to our growth planning and enable us to scaleup.”

Founded in 2019 as a spinoff of science and technology university ETH Zurich, neustark removes CO2 from the atmosphere and permanently stores it in recycled concrete, providing both a solution for permanent CO2 storage and the production of more sustainable building materials.

Valentin Gutknecht, co-founder and co-CEO of neustark, said:

“With this commitment UBS shows leadership in climate action and hopefully inspires others to follow suit. Long term offtake contracts are a key enabler for the urgently needed scaleup of carbon dioxide removal technologies.”

Suni Harford, UBS Group Executive Board Lead for Sustainability and Impact and President Asset Management, added:

“Innovative technologies play an increasingly important role in the transition to a low-carbon economy. By collaborating with neustark and Climeworks, UBS wants both to further reduce our own carbon footprint and, crucially, to support the development of scalable solutions that the world needs to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.”

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