Skytree to Supply DAC for Kenyan E-Fuels Plant Targeting Kilotonne Scale

Direct air capture units deployed at the Mwangea e-fuels project in Kenya are expected to capture up to tens of kilotonnes of atmospheric CO2 per year once fully scaled, according to the three partners behind the scheme. Skytree, Galetech Energy Developments and Mwahera Green Hydrogen have signed a strategic partnership to integrate DAC technology at the site, pairing captured carbon with green hydrogen to produce fuels the developers describe as carbon-neutral.

The announcement covers an early-stage project, not built capacity. The partnership begins with an initial deployment phase, followed by a technical and commercial performance verification, before any scale-up. That sequencing matters. Verification, not the press release, will decide whether the tens-of-kilotones figure becomes a throughput number or an aspiration.

Why capture air instead of flue gas?

The partners frame the project as an answer to two structural problems in e-fuel production.

• Carbon sourcing. By capturing CO2 directly from ambient air rather than relying on industrial point-source emissions, the project aims to close a circular carbon loop. Burning the resulting e-fuel releases no new CO2, because the carbon already came from the atmosphere.
• Energy supply. The plant will draw on Kenya's grid, where renewables account for roughly 80% of generation, sourced from geothermal, solar, wind and hydro.

The target market is heavy transport — aviation, maritime and long-haul shipping — sectors with few ready alternatives to liquid fuels and facing tightening international mandates.

Who does what at Mwangea?

The division of labour is explicit.

• Skytree supplies its proprietary DAC technology, along with engineering expertise and project-integration support aimed at high availability, energy efficiency and CO2 output quality. The company has prior form: it recently secured the first commercial deployment of its Stratus DAC system, and a $1.1 million loan from Invest International to develop its first Skypark in Iceland.
• Galetech Energy Developments handles project development, permitting, stakeholder engagement, and integration of the DAC systems into the e-fuels synthesis plant.
• Mwahera Green Hydrogen acts as the primary project company for the Mwangea initiative, managing regional development operations and site execution.

The structure puts a name against each risk. Technology performance sits with Skytree; permitting and integration risk sits with Galetech; delivery on the ground sits with Mwahera.

What do the partners claim for the model?

Dr. Kenneth Namunje, Director of Mwahera Green Hydrogen Ltd, set out the commercial logic in direct terms. "The Mwangea project transforms Kenya's renewable energy advantage into a high-value export commodity for global markets," he said.

He added: "By co-locating Direct Air Capture with local hydrogen production, we are building a self-sustaining infrastructure model that retains value in the regional economy while helping hard-to-decarbonize industries meet strict international mandates."

The claim is essentially an export argument: cheap renewable power converted into a traded fuel, with the carbon feedstock harvested on site. Whether the value stays regional, as Namunje suggests, will depend on offtake terms that have not been disclosed.

What happens next?

The milestone to watch is the completion of the initial deployment and the performance verification that follows it. Only then does the project move from announced intention to scalable capacity, and only then can the tens-of-kilotones capture target be tested against actual output.

Permitting, handled by Galetech, is the other gate. No permit timeline appears in the announcement, which leaves the regulator — and the verification data — holding the schedule.