Largest carbon removal plant to open in 2026

August 08, 2026

The world’s largest direct air capture facility is now expected to begin operations by the end of 2026 after technical problems delayed the launch of the massive carbon removal project in West Texas.

Developed by Occidental Petroleum, the Stratos direct air capture (DAC) facility is designed to remove as much as 500,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year once fully operational.

The project represents a major expansion in the scale of direct air capture technology and could significantly increase global capacity for permanently removing CO2 from the atmosphere.

Stratos carbon removal project faces delays

Construction of Stratos began in May 2023, and Occidental originally planned to bring the facility online by the end of 2024. However, the project encountered delays during commissioning and testing.

In May 2026, Occidental revealed that problems involving some components had disrupted the startup schedule. At the time, company executives said construction was largely complete and testing had begun on the first of the facility's two units.

Despite the setback, initial testing indicated that the plant's core technology and process systems were operating as expected.

Occidental has now provided a clearer timeline, saying it expects Stratos to begin operating toward the end of 2026.

Removing 500,000 tons of CO2 per year

Stratos is being developed as a large-scale direct air capture facility capable of extracting carbon dioxide directly from ambient air.

The technology relies on large fans to move air through specialized systems containing CO2-absorbing materials. Heat and other processes are then used to separate the captured carbon dioxide so it can be prepared for permanent underground storage.

At its planned capacity, the Texas facility could capture approximately 500,000 metric tons of CO2 annually.

That would make Stratos dramatically larger than existing commercial DAC plants. The largest direct air capture facility currently operating has a nominal removal capacity of around 36,000 metric tons of CO2 per year.

Stratos could therefore provide more than 13 times that annual capacity.

Direct air capture moves toward industrial scale

The scale of Stratos highlights the rapid development of the carbon removal industry.

Unlike conventional carbon capture systems installed at factories or power stations, direct air capture technologies are designed to remove CO2 that has already entered the atmosphere.

This distinction could make DAC particularly important for addressing emissions from sectors that are difficult to completely decarbonize.

However, direct air capture remains an emerging technology. Building and operating large facilities requires significant amounts of infrastructure, energy and capital, while the cost of removing each ton of CO2 remains an important challenge for the industry.

Large projects such as Stratos are therefore being closely watched as companies attempt to demonstrate whether DAC technology can operate reliably and economically at much larger scales.

Carbon removal market could expand

Occidental also sees opportunities to provide carbon management services to industries with rapidly growing energy requirements.

Company executives have indicated that carbon capture services could eventually be offered to data centers and power plant operators, potentially creating another market for large-scale carbon management infrastructure.

At the same time, Occidental has emphasized that continued investment in low-carbon technologies will depend partly on regulatory support and participation from other companies.
The successful launch of Stratos could provide an important test of whether direct air capture can move from relatively small demonstration projects toward industrial-scale deployment.

If the facility reaches its planned 500,000-ton annual capacity, it would establish a new benchmark for engineered carbon removal and represent one of the largest attempts yet to extract carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere.The latest timeline and capacity figures are based on Occidental’s August update reported by E&E News.