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Captura

Captura is a Direct Ocean Capture company, tackling climate change by removing CO₂ from seawater. Their innovative Direct Ocean Capture technology uses renewable electricity to extract CO₂, enhancing the ocean’s natural carbon absorption. This method is more efficient than Direct Air Capture. Captura’s pilot programs have shown strong scalability, with the potential to remove thousands to millions of tons of CO₂ annually. Their technology is protected under U.S. patent US12202743B2.
2021
51-200
Pasadena, California, United States
Carbon CaptureChemicalCleantechEnvironmental ConsultingSustainability

Innovation

Industry Problem

Captura is addressing one of the most pressing global challenges: climate change caused by excessive carbon emissions. The startup aims to reduce atmospheric CO₂ by targeting a critical but often overlooked carbon sink — the ocean.

R&D Focus

Captura focuses its R&D on Direct Ocean Capture (DOC), a novel, nature-inspired approach to carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Their core innovation lies in using proprietary electrodialysis and gas extraction technologies to remove CO₂ directly from seawater, enhancing the ocean’s natural ability to absorb atmospheric carbon.

Innovative Solution

Captura addresses climate change through its proprietary Direct Ocean Capture technology, which removes CO₂ directly from seawater using only renewable electricity and no added chemicals. By lowering CO₂ levels in the ocean, it enhances the ocean’s natural ability to absorb more CO₂ from the atmosphere. The captured carbon is then either permanently stored or repurposed into sustainable fuels and products. This elegant, scalable solution is efficient, environmentally safe, and leverages existing ocean infrastructure to drive impactful, cost-effective carbon removal.

Solution Effectiveness

Captura has demonstrated strong scalability and effectiveness in its pilot programs. Their Direct Ocean Capture technology was scaled 1,000 times from the initial prototype, with the latest pilot system in Hawai’i capable of capturing 1,000 tons of CO₂ per year. Future commercial deployments are projected to remove tens of thousands to millions of tons of CO₂ annually. Importantly, since CO₂ is 150 times more concentrated in seawater than in air, their method is inherently more efficient than Direct Air Capture, requiring less energy and infrastructure for the same amount of carbon removal.

Investment Funding

Last Funding Stage

Early Stage Venture

Total Funding Amount

$34.5M

Last Funding Amount

$21.5M

Last Funding Date

January, 2024

Startup Stage

Series A

Lead Investors

Hitachi Ventures, Caltech, Aramco Ventures, Future Planet Capital, Freeflow Ventures

Revenue

$18.5 M

People

Founders

Board Members

CEO

Products

Product

Captura’s primary product, the Direct Ocean Capture (DOC) System, removes dissolved CO₂ directly from seawater, enhancing the ocean’s natural ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere. The captured CO₂ can be permanently stored or reused, enabling the sale of carbon removal credits and supporting local industries such as aquaculture to reduce their carbon footprint. – Customer Reviews- NA

Star Product

The star product is Captura’s Direct Ocean Capture (DOC) System because it offers a groundbreaking, scalable solution to remove carbon dioxide directly from seawater using only renewable energy and seawater, with no harmful additives or waste. This technology leverages the ocean’s vast natural carbon absorption capacity, making it highly efficient and environmentally safe, while enabling permanent CO₂ storage or reuse, positioning it as a key innovation in the global fight against climate change

Demo Product or Complete Product?

Captura has transitioned from pilot demonstrations to commercial deployment of its Direct Ocean Capture (DOC) technology. In March 2025, the company announced its first large-volume carbon credit sale to Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), with a purchase of 30,000 tons of CO₂ removal credits to be delivered by 2030. This agreement supports MOL’s 2050 net-zero target and signifies Captura’s readiness for large-scale operations.

Future Plan

Market Expansion

Captura Corporation is collaborating with Equinor to develop a pilot plant in Norway that will remove 1,000 tons of CO2 from the ocean annually.

Awards and Recognitions

Awards

– XPRIZE Carbon Removal Milestone Award 2022 – Top 20 Finalist – XPRIZE Carbon Removal Competition 2024 – World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer (2024)

Media Apperance

– Energy Intelligence – E&E News – Carbon Herald – Gas World – Nikkei

M&A and Collabs

Collab

Equinor and Captura collaborated to develop ocean carbon removal in 2023

Collab

Captura collaborated with Montreal based Deep Sky to deploy DOC technology in Canada in 2023