Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been at the forefront of research activity for almost two decades now. By applying reticular chemistry, we have developed various MOFs that can carry out many energy-intensive separations including CO2 capture. For taking them to the next level, some of these MOFs with exceptional properties are being investigated under real-like conditions in collaboration with industrial partners. One of the prominent MOFs, KAUST-7 was investigated for trace CO2 capture applications, specifically for direct air capture (DAC). KAUST-7 MOF was successfully scaled up to a kg scale by a newly developed synthetic methodology. Efforts are on to valorize excellent CO2 capture properties of KAUST-7 by developing a DAC prototype that can be further scaled up for commercial deployment.