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Which organizations are conducting large-scale carbon dioxide removal (CDR) pilot projects now and where are they located?
Executive summary
Government programs and private developers are running pilot and first-of-a-kind carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects across multiple pathways—direct air capture (DAC), bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), biochar, enhanced weathering/mineralization, and ocean alkalinity trials—concentrated in North America and parts of Europe and Canada; the U.S. DOE is explicitly funding pilot programs up to $100 million and running a CDR purchase pilot to accelerate domestic pilots [1] [2]. Industry trackers show major DAC hubs under construction in the U.S. (Texas/Louisiana) and large planned plants in Iceland and the U.S., while Canada hosts emerging large bio- and mineralization projects [3] [4] [5].
1. Who’s funding and coordinating the pilots: national governments and the DOE lead the push
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is a central funder and convenor: it announced up to $100 million for pilot-scale testing of advanced CDR technologies and runs the Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Pilot Prize to buy CDR credits and accelerate demonstrations [1] [2]. International coordination is happening through the Mission Innovation CDR Mission and the Carbon Dioxide Removal Launchpad, which catalogue and publicize pilot-scale projects and MRV guidance internationally [6] [7].
2. Direct Air Capture pilots and large DAC hubs: Texas, Louisiana, Iceland, and the United States more broadly
Several large DAC projects have moved from pilot to construction. The IEA and industry trackers cite three DAC projects under construction with two large ones expected online in Iceland (36 kt/yr) and the United States (projected 500 kt/yr with potential scaling to 1 Mt/yr) — and the U.S. has supported DAC hubs in Texas and Louisiana via major funding rounds under the IRA [3]. CDR.fyi reporting highlights Occidental/1PointFive’s STRATOS DAC facility in Texas aiming for 500,000 t/yr and nearing completion in 2025 [4].
3. BECCS, biochar and biomass-based pilots: Canada, U.S., UK and Global South activity
Bio-based removals are driving much of current delivered volume and many pilot/commercial-scale projects. Reports show BECCS and biomass projects getting early public backing, with biochar the only method delivering at commercial scale as of early 2025 [8] [9]. Canada has multiple developer activities and planned large CDR hubs combining lithium/industrial operations with CDR (Renard, Manitoba proposals), and Carbonity in Canada began a 10,000‑tonne/yr biochar plant [10] [11] [5].
4. Ocean and mineralization pilots: ocean alkalinity and Carbfix-style storage
Ocean alkalinity enhancement pilots and mineralization testbeds are funded and being modeled; for example, Equatic operates seawater electrolysis plants referenced in Australia’s roadmap and Google and Carbon To Sea funded a model intercomparison for OAE [12] [13]. Carbfix in Iceland obtained a permit for onshore geological CO2 storage enabling large-scale basalt mineralization at up to 106,000 t/yr and larger multi‑year capacity—evidence of active mineralization and storage pilots in Europe [11].
5. Global distribution and project trackers: where to look for up-to-date pilot listings
Mission Innovation’s CDR Mission maintains an interactive map of MI-identified CDR projects (last updated May 2025) and a downloadable Launchpad project list catalogs pilot locations (examples include projects in Quebec, Alberta, Denmark, North Carolina coastal pilot placements, and more) [6] [14]. CDR.fyi is a sector reporting platform that publishes monthly recaps and project updates across regions—including Canada, U.S., Europe, India, and the Global South—and lists operational sites and pilots [15] [11].
6. Scale, money and the limits of “pilot” language
International agencies and analysts emphasize pilots and first-of-a-kind projects are stepping stones: the IEA notes announced projects could grow global removal capacity many-fold by 2035 but cautions most methods still rely heavily on early public funding and face MRV/verification gaps [9] [3]. DOE funding bands for pilot/small commercial demonstrations are roughly $5 million–$100 million per project, underscoring that many current pilots are modest compared with proposed commercial facilities [16] [1].
7. Competing viewpoints and what’s missing from these sources
Sources agree that pilots span many technologies and geographies, but they disagree on which pathways will scale fastest: market trackers say bio-based methods currently deliver most volume (CDR.fyi), while policy reports and IEA flag DAC and BECCS as receiving large public sums and offtake contracts that could drive rapid scale-up [8] [9]. Available sources do not mention a comprehensive, single public list of every “large-scale” pilot; instead, project-by-project lists live on Mission Innovation’s Launchpad and on private trackers like CDR.fyi, so “large-scale” definitions vary by report [6] [15].
Bottom line
If you want a near‑real‑time roster of pilots, consult Mission Innovation’s Launchpad map and CDR.fyi’s project tracker; for policy and funding context, read DOE FOAs and IEA/industry analyses, which identify hubs in the U.S. (Texas/Louisiana), Iceland, Canada, Europe and emerging activity in the Global South [6] [15] [3] [11] [1].