TUM Carbon

What TUM Carbon does

TUM Carbon is a non-profit student initiative and registered association (TUM Carbon Removal Initiative e.V.) based at the Technical University of Munich in Garching, Germany. Founded in 2021, the organization focuses on developing Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology to remove carbon dioxide from ambient air and store it as dry ice for long-term climate impact. Its stated mission is to contribute to reducing atmospheric CO2 toward a pre-industrial target of 250 ppm.

The core technology comprises three integrated stages: an Air Contactor that uses fans to pull ambient air through CO2-capturing filters, a Regeneration Plant that releases, purifies, and processes the captured CO2, and Dry Ice Storage modules that freeze CO2 into dry ice and hold it in modular, deconstructable, resource-saving storage units. The architecture is designed around three claimed advantages: scalability (energy efficiency improves with system size, enabling economic transfer to industrial scale), traceability (every tonne captured is measured and certified for corporate and regulatory reporting), and flexibility (dry ice form is transportable and compatible with future storage modalities). The next major milestone is completion of a pilot plant at the TUM campus to demonstrate efficiency and feasibility at larger scale.

TUM Carbon operates on a non-profit, research-driven model and is explicitly in a pre-revenue development stage. It does not sell commercial products or services; financial support comes from partners and sponsors, with BayernLB serving as its first and longest-standing partner since 2022. The organization is staffed by 30+ student volunteers organized into Process, Operations, Electronics, Sorbent Development, and Storage teams, with governance by a management board that includes Greta Baden, Daniel Klingler, and Maximilian Birnböck. Intended end customers are climate-conscious corporations and organizations seeking verifiable, certified carbon removal for sustainability reporting, with no commercial customers disclosed to date.

Name

TUM Carbon

Legal name

TUM Carbon Removal Initiative e.V.

Website

https://tumcarbon.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

TUM Carbon is a non-profit student initiative at the Technical University of Munich developing Direct Air Capture technology to remove atmospheric CO2 and store it as dry ice, targeting climate-conscious organizations and is currently in pre-revenue pilot plant development.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Carbon Removal Technology

akta.pro primary industry

Direct Air Capture (DAC) Systems & Plants (EUABAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Direct Air Capture (DAC) Project Development (EUABABAJ), Carbon Removal Project Development, Financing & Offtake (Developers, Aggregators, Buyers Clubs) (EUABAFAL)

Keywords

• Direct air capture
• Carbon removal technology
• Dry ice storage
• Carbon capture research
• Climate tech initiative

Headquarters

HQ city

Garching

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Non-profit Research Organization: TUM Carbon is a registered non-profit association (TUM Carbon Removal Initiative e.V.) designated for research in carbon removal. Any possible income will be used to benefit the association and its goals. Currently in pre-revenue development stage with first pilot plant under construction.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

TUM Carbon develops a Direct Air Capture (DAC) carbon removal technology combined with long-term dry ice storage. The system captures CO2 from the atmosphere via Air Contactors, processes it through a Regeneration Plant, and stores it as dry ice in modular, deconstructable repositories. The organization is a non-profit student initiative currently building its first pilot plant at the Technical University of Munich and does not yet sell commercial products or services.

Product overview

TUM Carbon offers a Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology system for carbon removal, consisting of three integrated components: the Air Contactor (which uses fans to pull air through filters capturing CO₂), the Regeneration Plant (which releases, purifies, and processes the captured CO₂), and Dry Ice Storage (which freezes CO₂ into dry ice for long-term storage in modular, traceable units). The technology is designed for scalability, flexibility, and traceability, with a pilot plant currently under development at the Technical University of Munich. The company is a non-profit student initiative focused on building a cheap and scalable carbon removal solution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Direct Air Capture Technology A carbon removal technology that captures CO2 from the atmosphere through a three-stage process (Air Contactor, Regeneration Plant, Dry Ice Storage) and is being developed for verifiable, traceable, long-term CO2 removal. Targeted at climate-conscious organizations and corporations seeking certified carbon removal for balance sheet, regulatory, and stakeholder reporting.
• Direct Air Capture Pilot Plant A pilot-scale demonstration plant at the Technical University of Munich that showcases the efficiency and feasibility of TUM Carbon's DAC technology at a larger scale, representing the organization's next major milestone before any commercial rollout.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Climeworks: Climeworks is the world's most commercially advanced Direct Air Capture company, operating DAC plants that pull CO2 from ambient air using sorbent-based contactors. TUM Carbon competes in the same DAC technology category and target market of verified carbon removal buyers, differing primarily in maturity and scale.
• Heirloom Carbon Technologies: Heirloom uses limestone-based DAC with rapid carbonation cycles to capture CO2 from ambient air. It is a direct peer to TUM Carbon in DAC technology development for the verified removal market.
• 1PointFive (Occidental): 1PointFive operates the STRATOS DAC plant built on Carbon Engineering's liquid-solvent technology and is scaling to megatonne volumes under Occidental's backing. Like TUM Carbon, it targets atmospheric CO2 capture and durable storage, but at industrial scale and with full corporate capitalization.
• Global Thermostat: Global Thermostat designs low-temperature DAC contactor systems that capture CO2 directly from air using amine-based sorbents. Comparable to TUM Carbon's sorbent-driven Air Contactor stage within a broader capture-to-storage carbon removal chain.

Emerging players

• Captura: Captura is a US-based startup developing electrochemical Direct Ocean Capture and DAC technology. It is a relevant emerging peer in next-generation DAC technology with overlap on the atmospheric capture problem TUM Carbon is addressing.
• CarbonCapture Inc. CarbonCapture Inc. develops solid-sorbent DAC systems with co-location to geological storage. It overlaps with TUM Carbon in DAC hardware development and targets the same corporate verified-removal demand.
• Skytree: Skytree develops compact modular DAC units based on technology originally developed for the European Space Agency. It overlaps with TUM Carbon in building smaller-scale, distributed DAC hardware targeting decarbonization use cases.
• Carbyon: Carbyon is a Dutch DAC startup developing fast-cycle sorbent-based Direct Air Capture systems. It is closely comparable to TUM Carbon in early-stage sorbent-driven DAC development and European university-adjacent origin.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TUMCarbon

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TUM Carbon