Climeworks Stock: Is the Climate Right for an IPO?
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Explore potential ways to own Climeworks stock before the Climeworks IPO date. Get access to pre-IPO startups like OpenAI, Databricks, and Canva via the Fundrise Innovation Fund.
Table of Contents
Recent Climeworks News
05/08/2024: Climeworks switches on world’s largest direct air capture plant
03/13/2024: Climeworks opens U.S. headquarters in Austin, Texas
02/29/2024: Mammoth taking final shape
12/07/2023: How carbon removal technology is like a time machine
Older news…
What is Climeworks?
Climeworks is a Zurich, Switzerland-based carbon dioxide (CO2) air capture startup. The company has created a direct air capture (DAC) technology to capture CO2 from the atmosphere.
Captured CO2 can be used as fertilizer, beverage carbonation, or mixed with water and pumped deep underground, where it mineralizes and can be stored permanently.
The technology aims to reduce the effect of emitted carbon on global temperatures. Its near-term goal is to filter 1% of annual global CO2 emissions by 2025.
Corporations and other organizations purchase carbon dioxide offsets from Climeworks on their journey to net zero carbon emission commitments. Long-term commitments are crucial to funding direct air capture industry growth.
Founded in November 2009 by Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher, Climeworks demonstrated a proof of concept and created prototypes early on, which has led to scaling the technology to industry-sized installations.
The company launched the first commercial-scale DAC plant in Hinwil, Switzerland 2017, which can remove 900 tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere annually.
The Orca facility, located in Hellisheiði-Kraftwerk, Iceland, was opened in September 2021 as the company’s second facility. It has a capacity to capture 4,000 tons of CO2 annually.
A third facility, Mammoth, will go live in 2024, capable of capturing 36,000 tons per year when fully operational. It is also in Iceland.
Here’s an introductory video with the co-founders explaining the process of removing CO2 from the air:
Is Climeworks Publicly Traded?
No. Climeworks AG (Aktiengesellschaft), is a for-profit private company. Its stock does not trade on an exchange.
Who Owns Climeworks?
Climeworks is a venture-backed startup.
The company has raised at least US $760 million in venture capital funding. The latest round was completed in April 2022, raising US $650 million.
Prominent venture capital investors include Carbon Removal Partners, Partners Group, John Doerr, Swiss Re, Global Founders Capital, M&G Investments, BigPoint Holdings, CIG, Baillie Gifford, and the Swiss Entrepreneurs Foundation.
Climeworks Valuation
The latest Climeworks valuation is estimated at $1-$3 billion based on the most recent funding round completed in April 2022.
Climeworks’ latest funding round did not disclose a confirmed valuation.
When is the Climeworks IPO Date?
The Climeworks IPO date is not established. The company has not yet file for an IPO, confidentially or publicly.
Will the Climeworks IPO Take Place in Europe or the U.S.?
One of Europe’s biggest IPOs over the past few years didn’t happen in Europe.
The Swedish music streaming company, Spotify, chose to launch its IPO in the U.S. on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
The European think tank, Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), suggests that Spotify chose the U.S. over Europe for its direct listing IPO due to complicated E.U. listing rules, the lack of a single securities authority, and demanding prospectus translation requirements.
If Climeworks continues its growth trajectory, access to robust capital markets will be crucial to fund additional expansion.
The SIX Swiss Exchange in Zurich is the primary stock exchange in Switzerland. Climeworks is based in Zurich, which makes the SIX Swiss Exchange the most logical home for the company if it pursues an IPO.
U.S.-based investors could still own shares through American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), presumably after the IPO.
However, U.S. exchanges may provide a more streamlined route to an IPO listing if the company wants to raise significant capital (and notoriety) in a U.S.-based IPO.
The U.S. retail investor appetite for climate-friendly investments is robust. Sweden’s battery producer Northvolt faces a similar choice.
What is the Climeworks Stock Price?
The Climeworks stock price doesn’t trade yet. It’s a private company.
There are limited indications of pre-IPO transactions that have occurred for Climeworks.
Private stock price information is becoming more available and reliable based on pre-IPO marketplace data and other sources.
However, the stock price is only the value of one share. Like public companies, the underlying valuation metrics, revenue, profitability, and market sentiment toward private companies are more significant factors than the share price.
What is the Climeworks Stock Symbol?
We’ll learn the Climeworks stock symbol once the company files for an IPO or an ADR becomes available in the US. This could be months or years away.
However, we can speculate about the Climeworks ticker in the U.S.
Here are a few available Climeworks ticker suggestions:
- CLME
- CWKS
- WRKS
How to Buy Climeworks Stock
Most investors cannot own Climeworks via pre-IPO investing platforms because they require the investor to be accredited.
When the Climeworks IPO date arrives, it will still be difficult for most investors to acquire IPO shares, especially if the IPO is conducted in Europe.
The most likely way investors can own Climeworks is to wait for the IPO and buy shares after the company goes public on a foreign exchange or wait for the ADR.
Here are some potential options to gain Climeworks equity exposure before, during, and after the IPO.
1. Access Climeworks Stock Pre-IPO
Climeworks shares may become available on pre-IPO investing platforms before the IPO.
This happens when employees or other early investors want to liquidate a portion of their shares before the public offering.
Investors must be accredited to be eligible to buy pre-IPO shares directly.
It helps to be registered on pre-IPO investing platforms to receive notifications when shares become available.
Investors can monitor alternative pre-IPO investing platforms such as Hiive, Forge Global, EquityZen, and Linqto for share availability.
Accredited investors can expect to pay at least a $10,000 investment minimum if shares become available. It’s free to sign up for data and deal alerts.
Joining pre-IPO investing platforms is free. But each venue and deal may have a minimum investment amount, varying by the deal.
Non-accredited investors can own pre-IPO companies via venture capital funds targeted to retail investors. Venture capital funds are a new asset class that emerged in 2022.
The Fundrise Innovation Fund (review) is the best option for non-accredited investors as of late-2023.
The author has not seen Climeworks stock availability on any of the pre-IPO platforms mentioned in this article.
Please note: This is a testimonial in partnership with Fundrise. We earn a commission from partner links on AccessIPOs.com. All opinions are my own.
2. Buy Climeworks during the Climeworks IPO through a participating broker
IPO investors may find opportunities to invest during the initial public offering, acquiring shares at the IPO price before the company begins trading.
Online brokers, including the ones listed below, give customers free access to U.S.-based IPOs, even with low account balances.
TradeStation has a more established track record of accessing more than 300 IPOs and secondary offerings via its partnership with ClickIPO.
But Robinhood has the advantage of Silicon Valley networks and a history of getting allocations for high-profile IPOs (such as Sweetgreen and Rivian).
Check out our list of best brokers for IPO investing to learn more about IPO access for retail investors.
3. Buy Climeworks stock after the Climeworks IPO
Waiting until after the IPO is often better than investing in the IPO.
The IPO allows investors to review more established financials after the first quarter of trading. Pre-IPO investing has limited financials available.
IPO stock prices typically rise with high-demand companies, but valuations can become exaggerated. Invest can benefit if you’re in early and sell when the price overheats but suffer if prices revert to fair valuations.
Many IPOs start with high-flying valuations. But often, the stock falls once the first and second-quarter earnings reports become available.
In 2021, both Rivian and Robinhood became high-flying IPO stocks. But six months after the IPO, both stocks were more than 80% below their price peak.
Stock price declines after the IPO can be excellent entry points for long-term disruptors.
Avoid buying overvalued shares immediately after the IPO. Shares often fall after the IPO due to lockup expirations and quarterly earnings disappointments.
However, the most disruptive companies will be higher in a decade. Patience pays.
Where is the Climeworks IPO F-1 Filing?
A Climeworks F-1 filing (for foreign companies) has yet to be filed or released to the public, and there is no indication of a confidential U.S. filing.
The document will become available if the company chooses to list in the U.S. instead of Europe.
If it becomes available, we’ll post a copy of the F-1 filing on this page.
Investors can monitor the most recent S-1 and F-1 IPO filings on this website.
Climeworks News Archive
10/19/2023: A Startup Battles Big Oil for the $1 Trillion Future of Carbon Cleanup
08/11/2023: Climeworks wins as U.S. allocates billions for CO2 removal
06/15/2023: Why Kenya could take the lead in carbon removal
05/23/2023: JPM and Climeworks partner on carbon direct air capture
04/19/2023: Climeworks confirms expansion to U.S.
04/05/2022: Climeworks raises CHF 600 million in latest equity round
07/23/2021: These companies are sucking carbon out of the atmosphere
09/02/2020: Climeworks investment boosted to US $110 million
06/02/2020: Climeworks raises CHF 73M (USD 75M)
Conclusion
Investors get excited when they identify companies riding extraordinary macroeconomic trends. Climate change-reversing companies with strong moral objectives that are also in business for profit get much attention from investors.
Though you may want to own the company today, buying stock early on can often prove difficult for retail investors.
Pre-IPO investing platforms have opened more doors for retail buyers. But venture capital investing is still primarily reserved for the ultra-wealthy, requiring millions to invest in seed and early funding rounds for disruptive companies.
Climeworks being a European company, further complicates pre-IPO and IPO access.
So if you decide to pursue early equity or IPO shares in Climeworks, maintain reasonable expectations. Access is unlikely but not impossible.
If Climeworks stock is on your watch list, good luck. Invest in pre-IPO and IPO companies with caution.
Read more: Climate Startups in the IPO Pipeline
* Disclosure: The web page contains affiliate links from our partners. If a reader opens an account or buys a service from a link in this article, we may be compensated at no additional cost to the reader. Opening an account with a broker that provides access to IPOs does not guarantee the customer allocations of specific IPOs. The author is long the Fundrise Innovation Fund, ARK Venture Fund, and HOOD.
Craig Stephens is a former IT professional who left his 19-year consulting career at the IRS to be a full-time finance writer. A DIY investor since 1995, he started Access IPOs in 2016 to provide a resource for ordinary investors pursuing access to IPOs. Craig studied Finance at Michigan State University and lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and three children. Learn more about Craig.
