Introduction: Industrializing Direct Air Capture Through Automation
The collaboration between Siemens and Ucaneo represents a clear shift: DAC is no longer a lab-driven sustainability concept but an industrial-scale process requiring classical automation discipline, modular engineering, and digital replication strategies.
From an engineering standpoint, the key transformation here is not the CO₂ capture chemistry itself, but the standardization of control architecture that allows one validated plant to become a blueprint for hundreds of future installations.
Electrochemical DAC: Process Design Inspired by Biological Systems
Ucaneo’s electrochemical Direct Air Capture system mimics a lung-like exchange mechanism, extracting CO₂ directly from ambient air and delivering purity levels above 99.9%.
What stands out technically is the full electrification of the process. Unlike thermal sorbent-based DAC systems, this approach aligns naturally with variable renewable energy input. From an automation perspective, this introduces a highly dynamic operating envelope where control systems must continuously optimize:
- Power-to-capture efficiency
- Grid signal responsiveness
- Electrochemical cell stability
- CO₂ purity consistency under fluctuating loads
In my view, this is where classical process automation meets energy-market-driven control logic—something traditionally seen in power systems rather than chemical plants.
Berlin First-of-a-Kind Plant: From Pilot to Industrial Validation
The Berlin facility, scheduled for commissioning in July 2026, marks Germany’s largest DAC installation with a capacity of 150 tons CO₂ per year.
Beyond the headline capacity, the real engineering value lies in validation under real industrial constraints:
- Integration with renewable energy sources
- Geological storage pathway verification
- Continuous operation under variable grid pricing
- Certification-ready CO₂ output streams
A critical observation here is that DAC plants are evolving into “compliance-driven production assets” rather than purely process plants. This changes instrumentation requirements significantly—traceability, redundancy, and auditability become as important as throughput.
Siemens Xcelerator: Building a Replicable Automation Template
Within this partnership, Siemens deploys its Siemens Xcelerator portfolio to create a standardized automation backbone across all project phases.
Key technologies include:
- SIMATIC PCS neo distributed control system
- Advanced process simulation tools
- Digital twin-based commissioning validation
- Integrated instrumentation and drive systems
From a systems engineering perspective, the most important development is the creation of a modular automation template. This effectively converts DAC plants into repeatable “automation products” rather than bespoke engineering projects.
This is a major shift in EPC philosophy: reduce variability, increase replication speed, and compress commissioning risk through simulation-first deployment.
Scale-Up Strategy: From Single Plant to Global Licensing Model
Ucaneo’s roadmap targets multi-site deployment through licensed operators, with a long-term ambition of capturing up to half a gigaton of CO₂ annually by 2035.
What is particularly interesting is the move toward an “automation-as-a-platform” model. Instead of scaling hardware alone, the partnership scales:
- Control logic standardization
- Digital operational templates
- Remote optimization frameworks
- Unified lifecycle data models
In my view, this is the only viable way DAC can reach gigaton scale. Without deep automation replication, each plant would become a unique engineering project, destroying both cost predictability and deployment speed.
Engineering Insight: DAC as a New Class of Process Industry
As an automation engineer, I see DAC emerging as a hybrid between chemical processing, power electronics, and digital infrastructure.
Three structural shifts define this evolution:
- Process variability becomes the norm, not the exception
- Software-defined operations replace static plant logic
- Carbon output becomes a regulated, tradable industrial product
The Siemens–Ucaneo model signals a broader industry truth: carbon removal at scale will not be achieved by chemistry alone, but by the industrialization of control systems, data architecture, and deployment standardization.
In that sense, the real innovation is not just capturing CO₂—but making every future plant an executable copy of the first.
