Direct Carbon
Direct Carbon AB is a Sweden-based hardware company that sells modular Wunderpumpe direct air capture systems, capturing CO2 from ambient air to supply indoor farms (vertical farms, greenhouses, container farms) and replace fossil-based CO2, distributed via direct sales and channel partners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersVästerås, Sweden
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Direct Carbon does
Direct Carbon AB is a Sweden-based, private hardware company that designs and sells modular direct air capture (DAC) systems under the Wunderpumpe brand for the indoor agriculture market. The Wunderpumpe family captures CO2 directly from ambient outdoor air and supplies it to indoor farms, replacing fossil-based liquid CO2 deliveries; the product line spans five models from Wunderpumpe-2 (2 kg CO2/day, ~30 kg unit) up to Wunderpumpe-200 (200 kg/day, 2,400 kg unit), enabling deployment across container farms, research facilities, mid-scale greenhouses, and large vertical farms. The core technology repurposes existing ventilation hardware into carbon capture machines, was originally inspired by International Space Station (ISS) air-quality systems, and was developed jointly with the European Space Agency (ESA).
The company was formed in 2021 as a spin-off from Sally R, recorded its first installation with IKEA and DM Odla at Helsingborg's H22 City Expo in 2022, and commercially launched Wunderpumpe at GreenTech Amsterdam in June 2024. Direct Carbon monetizes via hardware sales under a pay-as-you-go model (quote-based pricing, no upfront investment) that bundles units with potential recurring service and consumables, and supports growers with a web interface plus a 'Made with Air Captured CO2' marketing badge. Go-to-market combines direct sales through a website contact form, a channel partnership with Arianetech Pte. Ltd. for South East Asia, and heavy event-driven demand generation across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia; the company is led by CEO Mattias Karls and CTO Anders Edström with a Commercial Head (Ankur Garg), operating with 1–10 employees from a single Sweden headquarters.
Direct Carbon firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Direct Carbon
- Legal name
- Direct Carbon AB
- Website
- https://direct-carbon.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Direct Carbon AB is a Sweden-based hardware company that sells modular Wunderpumpe direct air capture systems, capturing CO2 from ambient air to supply indoor farms (vertical farms, greenhouses, container farms) and replace fossil-based CO2, distributed via direct sales and channel partners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Direct Carbon industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Direct Air Capture Equipment
- NAICS
- Industrial and Commercial Fan and Blower and Air Purification Equipment Manufacturing (333413)
- SIC
- Industrial & Commercial Fans & Blowers & Air Purifing Equip (3564), Misc Industrial & Commercial Machinery & Equipment (3590)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Direct Air Capture (DAC) Systems & Plants (EUABAFAA)
Keywords
Where Direct Carbon is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Västerås
- HQ country
- Sweden
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Direct Carbon business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Wunderpumpe DAC Hardware Sales: Direct Carbon sells its Wunderpumpe direct air capture systems in five sizes (2–200 kg CO2/day). The hardware is sold directly to indoor growers including container farms, greenhouses, and vertical farms. No upfront investment is required under a pay-as-you-go model, making systems accessible across farm sizes.
- Pay-As-You-Go / Subscription Model: The company offers a unique pay-as-you-go model that eliminates large upfront capital investments for growers, broadening the addressable market. This may include ongoing service, maintenance, and consumables (air filters, adsorbent materials) bundled into recurring payments.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Wunderpumpe-2: 2 kg CO2/day for small-scale and experimental growers |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Wunderpumpe-5: 5 kg CO2/day for small-scale commercial growers |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Wunderpumpe-20: 20 kg CO2/day for medium-scale farms |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Wunderpumpe-50: 50 kg CO2/day for high-demand environments |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Wunderpumpe-200: 200 kg CO2/day for large-scale vertical farms |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Direct Carbon product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Direct Carbon designs, manufactures, and sells modular Direct Air Capture (DAC) systems under the Wunderpumpe brand that capture CO2 from ambient outdoor air and supply it to indoor farms (container farms, greenhouses, vertical farms). The scalable product family ranges from 2 kg/day to 200 kg/day CO2 capacity, replacing fossil-based liquid CO2 deliveries. The company offers its hardware through a pay-as-you-go commercial model with no upfront investment required.
Product overview
Direct Carbon offers the Wunderpumpe family of modular direct air capture (DAC) systems designed specifically for indoor agriculture. The product line spans from the compact Wunderpumpe-2 (2kg/day CO2 capacity, 31 kg) for small research facilities and container farms, through the mid-range Wunderpumpe-5, -20, and -50 models (5-50kg/day capacity), up to the industrial-scale Wunderpumpe-200 (200kg/day capacity, 2400 kg) for large-scale vertical farms. All systems capture CO2 directly from ambient air and supply it to indoor growing environments, eliminating reliance on fossil-based CO2. The Wunderpumpe products are designed to integrate with existing climate control infrastructure and come with a 'Made with Air Captured CO2' marketing badge for end products.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Wunderpumpe: Product line of compact direct air capture (DAC) systems for indoor farming, capturing CO2 directly from ambient air. Product family ranges from 2kg/day (Wunderpumpe-2) to 200kg/day (Wunderpumpe-200) CO2 capture capacity.
Products and services
- Wunderpumpe DAC System Family Modular direct air capture (DAC) system for indoor agriculture that captures CO2 from ambient air and supplies it to plants, replacing fossil-based CO2 sources. Designed for indoor growers including container farms, greenhouses, and vertical farms.
- Wunderpumpe-2 (WP-2) Compact 2 kg/day CO2 capture system designed for research facilities, nurseries, container farms, and in-store farming setups where space is at a premium. Dimensions 504x428x526 mm, 31 kg, 3 kW peak power.
- Wunderpumpe-5 Compact 5 kg/day CO2 capture system for small-scale commercial growers. Dimensions 1130x540x570 mm, weight 66 kg.
- Wunderpumpe-20 20 kg/day CO2 capture system designed for medium-scale farms. Dimensions 1199x807x1170 mm, weight 210 kg, 16 kW peak power.
- Wunderpumpe-50 High-capacity 50 kg/day CO2 capture system for high-demand indoor growing environments. Dimensions 2326x1340x1131 mm, weight 550 kg, 57 kW peak power.
- Wunderpumpe-200 Industrial-scale 200 kg/day CO2 capture system for large-scale vertical farms. Dimensions 2400x2500x2900 mm, weight 2400 kg, 132 kW peak power. Available under multi-year contracts.
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 40% increase in crop yields by boosting CO2 levels from 400 to 1000 PPM
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Direct Carbon
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Direct Carbon technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Direct Carbon partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Arianetech Pte. Ltd.coreDirect Carbon signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Arianetech Pte. Ltd. during the Agri-Food Tech Expo Asia (AFTEA) 2024. The partnership aims to bring Direct Carbon's Wunderpumpe DAC systems to the South East Asia market and help indoor growers decarbonize their operations. Signed by Ankur Garg (Direct Carbon) and Edwin Ong (Arianetech).
- Sally RcoreDirect Carbon originated as a spin-off from Sally R, which initially developed an innovative solution for indoor air quality challenges. The company shifted towards CO2 re-circulation in indoor environments and was officially formed in 2021 to focus exclusively on carbon capture for indoor agriculture. The fundamental idea to capture carbon for utilization can be applied to numerous industries.
- European Space Agency (ESA)minorDirect Carbon's technology was originally inspired by the International Space Station (ISS) and developed jointly with ESA, adapting space-grade air quality and carbon management technology for terrestrial indoor farming applications.
- IKEAminorDirect Carbon's first installation was conducted together with IKEA and DM Odla at the H22 City Expo 2022 in Helsingborg, Sweden. The carbon capture unit captured CO2 directly from ambient air and helped IKEA and DM Odla decrease dependence on CO2 bottle transports and increase sustainability.
- DM OdlaminorDM Odla operated the first commercial installation of Direct Carbon's carbon capture unit at H22 City Expo 2022 in Helsingborg, using the captured CO2 to feed crops in their hydroponic indoor farm. The prototype generated ~1 kg CO2/day, reducing CO2 costs by ~50%.
- Association for Vertical Farming (AVF)minorDirect Carbon joined the Association for Vertical Farming in 2025 following its AVF Start-Up Challenge win. The company describes this as 'the beginning of deeper collaborations with growers, innovators, and change-makers worldwide' in the vertical farming ecosystem.
- Japan Plant Factory Association (JPFA)minorDuring Direct Carbon's market visit to Japan in January 2025, the company met with JPFA and various indoor growers and solutions providers. JPFA represents Japan's plant factory ecosystem and is a key stakeholder for market entry in Japan.
- Emirates BustanicaminorDirect Carbon visited Emirates Bustanica (one of the world's largest vertical farms) during its UAE market exploration in September 2025 as part of the GVF Show in Dubai, engaging with this pioneer in the UAE agricultural landscape to explore sustainable CO2 solutions.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Direct Carbon competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Skytree: Amsterdam-based DAC company producing compact direct air capture units aimed at indoor environments, including greenhouses and CEA facilities. Skytree is the closest like-for-like comparison to Direct Carbon's Wunderpumpe given its focus on distributed, small-footprint DAC for indoor CO2 enrichment.
- CO2 GRO Inc. Canada-listed company providing CO2 enrichment solutions for greenhouses and indoor growing facilities. Targets the same controlled-environment-agriculture customer base as Direct Carbon, addressing the same pain point of boosting CO2 for crop yields, although via a different delivery mechanism.
Broad incumbents
- Climeworks: Swiss direct air capture pioneer and the most-funded DAC company globally, with large-scale Orca and Mammoth plants operating. While currently focused on industrial carbon removal and offtake, Climeworks represents the deep-pocketed incumbent any compact/indoor DAC entrant will ultimately compete or partner with.
- Heirloom Carbon: US-based DAC company using limestone-based sorbent technology and recently commissioned one of the largest DAC facilities in the United States. Operates in the same DAC category as Direct Carbon but at very different scale and capital intensity.
- Linde plc: Global industrial gas major that today supplies the majority of fossil-derived CO2 (and alternatives) to greenhouses and indoor farms worldwide. Direct Carbon's value proposition is fundamentally a substitute for, and threat to, Linde's incumbent CO2 supply business in the CEA segment.
- Air Liquide: Major industrial gas supplier with deep CO2 distribution networks in Europe and the Middle East. Like Linde, Air Liquide is the incumbent whose fossil-CO2 logistics business Direct Carbon's Wunderpumpe disrupts at the indoor-farm level.
- Air Products: US-listed industrial gas giant with a significant merchant CO2 business supplying food, beverage and agricultural customers. Represents a third major incumbent whose liquid-CO2 supply chain Direct Carbon's distributed DAC system is positioned to displace.
Emerging players
- Spiritus: Early-stage US DAC startup developing modular sorbent-based direct air capture technology. Pursues a similar distributed-DAC strategy to Direct Carbon but targets broader applications and is several years ahead on capital raised.
- Greenlyte Carbon Technologies: German DAC company developing liquid-absorption DAC systems. Operates a pilot plant in Germany with similar technical ambitions to Direct Carbon, targeting scalable distributed CO2 capture, though focused on industrial use cases rather than agriculture.
- Avnos: California-based early-stage DAC startup focused on distributed, hybrid air-and-water capture systems. Targets lower-cost, modular DAC closer in spirit to Direct Carbon's distributed indoor-agriculture thesis rather than centralized industrial DAC plants.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Direct Carbon social profiles
Digital presenceDirect Carbon financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Direct Carbon leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Direct Carbon funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Direct Carbon M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Direct Carbon
What does Direct Carbon do?
Direct Carbon designs, manufactures, and sells modular Direct Air Capture (DAC) systems under the Wunderpumpe brand that capture CO2 from ambient outdoor air and supply it to indoor farms (container farms, greenhouses, vertical farms). The scalable product family ranges from 2 kg/day to 200 kg/day CO2 capacity, replacing fossil-based liquid CO2 deliveries. The company offers its hardware through a pay-as-you-go commercial model with no upfront investment required.
Is Direct Carbon a public or private company?
Direct Carbon is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Direct Carbon founded?
Direct Carbon was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Direct Carbon based?
Direct Carbon is headquartered in Västerås, Sweden, in the Europe region.
How does Direct Carbon make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Wunderpumpe DAC Hardware Sales are the primary driver. The others are pay-As-You-Go / Subscription Model.
Who are Direct Carbon's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Skytree and CO2 GRO Inc.. Broad incumbents are Climeworks, Heirloom Carbon, Linde plc, Air Liquide and Air Products. Emerging players are Spiritus, Greenlyte Carbon Technologies and Avnos.
Does Direct Carbon have an API?
No public API is recorded for Direct Carbon.
What industry is Direct Carbon in?
Direct Carbon's product category is Direct Air Capture Equipment. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUABAFAA, Direct Air Capture (DAC) Systems & Plants. Its NAICS code is 333413 and its SIC code is 3564.