Top 10 Carbon Capture Startups
Discover the Pioneers Driving Breakthrough Solutions in Carbon Capture to Combat Climate Change and Shape a Greener Tomorrow.
- 1.
Capture6
Capture6 is a climate technology company that removes CO₂ from the atmosphere using Direct Air Capture (DAC) with desalination brine waste. This process generates freshwater and valuable green co-products like hydrogen and lithium, achieving permanent carbon removal, water positivity, and industrial decarbonization. Their patented DAC+OAE technology removes 2–3x more CO₂ than DAC alone, contributing to ocean health restoration.
- United States
- 2021
- Early Stage Venture
Industry Problem: Capture6 is a climate technology startup focused on tackling the pressing issue of climate change caused by historic and ongoing greenhouse gas emissions.R&D Focus: Capture6 is a climate technology company specializing in Direct Air Capture (DAC), focusing on removing carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere to support climate resilience and industrial decarbonization. Their research and development efforts are dedicated to enhancing the efficiency, scalability, and cost-effectiveness of their DAC technology.Innovative Solution: Capture6 solves the climate challenge by using proven commercial technology to capture CO₂ from desalination brine waste, producing fresh water while eliminating harmful brine discharge. Their process also creates valuable green co-products such as hydrogen and lithium, making efficient use of renewable energy. This integrated approach enables economically viable direct air capture today, avoiding long development timelines and reducing environmental impact.Solution Effectiveness: - Permanent Carbon Removal: Mineralizes CO₂ for 10,000+ years, addressing residual and historic emissions. - Water Positive: Converts brine into freshwater, aiding 2 billion+ people facing water scarcity. - Industrial Decarbonization: Captures point-source emissions and produces green chemicals to cut scope 1 & 3 emissions. - Enhanced CO₂ Removal: DAC+OAE removes 2–3x more CO₂ than DAC alone. - Ocean Health Restoration: Counteracts acidification and helps restore marine ecosystems. - 2.
CarbonCapture
CarbonCapture is a climate tech company developing patented, modular direct air capture (DAC) systems that remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Their Leo Series DAC system, with 12 reactors per module, captures 500 tons of CO2 annually with 98% purity, designed for scalable, mass-produced carbon removal.
- United States
- 2019
- Early Stage Venture
Industry Problem: Carbon Capture aims to combat climate change by directly removing excess CO2 from the atmosphere.R&D Focus: CarbonCapture focuses its R&D on modular Direct Air Capture systems using advanced solid sorbents. Their niche lies in designing upgradeable DAC hardware with open architecture, enabling continuous sorbent improvements and reduced obsolescence. They also invest in materials science, rapid prototyping, and design-for-manufacturability to scale carbon removal efficiently.Innovative Solution: CarbonCapture is addressing the climate challenge by developing modular Direct Air Capture (DAC) systems that remove carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere.Solution Effectiveness: Each module in CarbonCapture’s Leo Series DAC system is equipped with 12 reactors, which combine to remove 500 tons of CO2 per year, with verified extraction purity of 98%. Designed for mass production and scalability, these systems support deployment at various levels, from pilot projects to megaton-scale carbon removal. - 3.
Mote
Mote converts woody biomass waste into clean biohydrogen and permanently stores CO₂, significantly boosting hydrogen output and eliminating waste. Our patented BiCRS process supports zero-emission fuel, reduces wildfire risks, and powers off-grid systems, offering a scalable, clean energy solution.
- Germany
- 2020
- Series A
Industry Problem: Mote is addressing several critical environmental and energy-related problems through its carbon removal and hydrogen production technology.R&D Focus: Mote operates in the biomass-based carbon removal and hydrogen generation niche, specifically focusing on a low-footprint, high-yield alternative to traditional hydrogen production and carbon capture methods. Their R&D uniquely targets waste-to-energy systems that also deliver climate-positive outcomes and air quality improvements.Innovative Solution: Mote’s solution converts woody biomass waste into clean biohydrogen and permanently stores the captured CO₂ by reacting the biomass with pure oxygen at high temperatures. Their efficient process boosts hydrogen output by 10%, halves carbon losses, and leaves zero waste by turning ash into fertiliser, which reduces emissions, supports zero-emission fuel for heavy vehicles, and lowers wildfire risk through sustainable biomass management.Solution Effectiveness: Mote’s solution captures and stores 450,000 tons of CO₂ annually while producing 60,000 kg of clean biohydrogen per day. Their technology increases hydrogen production by 10% and improves processing throughput by 9%, cutting carbon losses by 50%. It effectively replaces emissions from field burning and landfilling, reduces wildfire risks, and powers zero-emission heavy-duty trucks and off-grid energy systems, making it a scalable, utility-ready clean energy solution. - 4.
Cool Planet Technologies
Cool Planet Technologies (CPT) develops cutting-edge, patented membrane technology for highly efficient, chemical-free CO₂ capture from industrial emissions. Our modular solutions reduce energy use by 60% and space by 50%, cutting capture costs by up to 50% for effective industrial decarbonization.
- Finland
- 2019
- Early Stage Venture
Industry Problem: Cool Planet Technologies is addressing several critical problems in the carbon capture industry, particularly focusing on the challenges faced by industrial sectors.R&D Focus: Cool Planet Technologies is advancing research in membrane-based carbon capture systems, focusing on modular, energy-efficient solutions for industrial sectors with high CO₂ emissions. Their R&D targets hard-to-abate industries such as cement, refining, steel, and waste-to-energy, developing next-generation membranes optimized for automated mass production, high capture capacity, and low environmental impact, without the use of chemicals or solvents.Innovative Solution: Cool Planet Technologies uses a modular, membrane-based carbon capture solution that separates CO₂ from industrial flue gases with up to 99% efficiency and 99.9% purity. The system is compact, scalable, chemical-free, and electrically powered, making it adaptable to sectors such as cement, steel, and refining. Its plug-and-play design enables fast deployment, low energy use, and a cost-effective path to industrial decarbonisation.Solution Effectiveness: Cool Planet Technologies’ solution is highly effective, achieving up to 99% CO₂ capture with 99.9% purity, while using up to 60% less energy and occupying 50% less space than conventional systems. It also offers a cost reduction of up to 50% per tonne of CO₂ captured, making it a highly efficient, scalable, and economically viable option for industrial decarbonization. - 5.
Captura
Captura develops innovative Direct Ocean Capture technology, utilizing renewable electricity to remove CO₂ from seawater. More efficient than direct air capture, their patented system scales to remove thousands to millions of tons of CO₂ annually, enhancing the ocean's natural carbon absorption to combat climate change.
- United States
- 2021
- Early Stage Venture
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. - 6.
Eion
Eion offers a patented solution for permanent atmospheric CO2 removal by applying pulverized olivine to farmland. This accelerates natural CO2 absorption through enhanced weathering, permanently storing carbon, improving soil quality, and providing verified carbon credits.
- United States
- 2021
- Early Stage Venture
Industry Problem: Eion is tackling the challenge of permanently removing atmospheric CO2 at scale while improving soil health and creating sustainable jobs in rural American farming communities.R&D Focus: Eion’s R&D focuses on enhanced weathering using olivine minerals for scalable, permanent carbon removal and precise soil-based carbon measurement technologies.Innovative Solution: Eion’s solution involves applying pulverised olivine, a natural mineral, on farmland to speed up Earth’s natural CO2 absorption through enhanced weathering, permanently locking away carbon while improving soil quality and integrating seamlessly with existing agricultural practices.Solution Effectiveness: Eion aims to remove 10 million tons of CO2 annually by 2030 and has proven its carbon removal with patented direct soil measurement methods, delivering verified carbon credits to major buyers such as Stripe, demonstrating high permanence of CO2 storage for over 1,000 years. - 7.
Noya
Noya develops innovative, energy-efficient Direct Air Capture (DAC) systems that permanently remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Our modular, all-electric technology uses affordable sorbents to capture over 1,000 tons of CO2 per deployment, ensuring long-term impact and providing verified carbon removal credits to help companies achieve net-zero goals.
- United States
- 2020
- Early Stage Venture
Industry Problem: Noya is tackling the urgent problem of excess carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, which is a major driver of climate change.R&D Focus: Noya’s area of research and development focuses on energy-efficient, modular, and cost-effective Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology that permanently removes CO2 from the atmosphere. Their niche segment includes developing all-electric, water-positive DAC systems with innovative capture chemistry and rapid cycling capability optimized for large-scale carbon removal and reliable, high-quality carbon credits.Innovative Solution: Noya solves carbon removal by developing an energy-efficient, all-electric Direct Air Capture system that uses affordable, innovative sorbent materials and a modular design for easy scaling. Their water-positive, interruptible process captures CO2 from the air and permanently stores it with transparent, third-party-verified monitoring, providing reliable, high-quality carbon removal credits to help companies achieve net zero.Solution Effectiveness: Noya’s solution targets capturing 1,000+ tons of CO2 per deployment, aligning with incentives from the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to scale cost-effective Direct Air Capture. Their system removes CO2 on timescales of 1,000+ years, ensuring permanent impact. Additionally, their water-positive technology generates significantly more clean water than it consumes, enhancing sustainability in water-stressed regions. - 8.
Carbon Reform
Carbon Reform is a climate-tech startup reducing CO2 emissions and improving indoor air quality in commercial buildings. Our patented Carbon Reduction System integrates with existing HVAC to capture and mineralize CO2 on-site, cutting energy use by up to 50% and offering a 5-7 year ROI.
- United States
- 2020
- Seed
Industry Problem: Carbon Reform addresses the urgent problem of high carbon emissions from commercial buildings, which contribute around 40% of global emissions, while also tackling poor indoor air quality that harms health and productivity.R&D Focus: Carbon Reform focuses its research and development on advanced indoor air quality management and commercial building decarbonization. Their niche lies in developing intelligent, sensor-driven systems that capture and permanently mineralize indoor CO₂, integrating with existing HVAC infrastructure to optimize energy efficiency, air purification, and real-time environmental control for healthier, more sustainable commercial spaces.Innovative Solution: Carbon Reform solves the problem by using its Carbon Reduction System, which combines modular retrofit hardware, advanced sensors, and intelligent controls to capture and permanently mineralize indoor CO₂ on-site. Their system reduces HVAC energy use by up to 50% by safely lowering outside air intake while maintaining clean indoor air through advanced purification technology that removes CO₂, VOCs, particulates, and pathogens. This integrated solution improves air quality, cuts emissions, lowers operating costs, and supports regulatory compliance, all without disruptive renovations.Solution Effectiveness: Carbon Reform’s solution can reduce HVAC energy consumption by up to 50%, delivering a competitive return on investment within 5 to 7 years. Their Carbon Reduction System significantly lowers building emissions while improving indoor air quality, boosting occupant productivity by up to 60%. By safely reducing outside air intake by up to 90%, their technology cuts energy costs related to heating, cooling, and maintenance, making it a highly effective and profitable decarbonization approach for commercial buildings. - 9.
Mission Zero
Mission Zero Technologies is a DAC startup developing modular, energy-efficient, and scalable direct air capture systems. Their electrochemical methods remove CO₂ from the atmosphere, consuming 3-5 times less energy than conventional methods. Their systems are easily deployable across industries and locations.
- United Kingdom
- 2020
- Early Stage Venture
Industry Problem: Mission Zero is a DAC startup with patent-pending breakthrough technology and close the carbon cycle.R&D Focus: Mission Zero Technologies is tackling the urgent problem of climate change by focusing on the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is addressing the paradox of CO₂ being both a harmful pollutant and a valuable resource by developing direct air capture technology.Innovative Solution: Mission Zero Technologies conducts research and development in direct air capture (DAC), focusing on electrochemical methods to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. Their niche lies in creating modular, energy-efficient DAC systems that are versatile, mobile, and scalable for diverse industrial applications and geographic locations.Solution Effectiveness: Mission Zero Technologies is using a proprietary electrochemical direct air capture (DAC) technology to solve the problem of excess atmospheric CO₂. Inspired by natural biological processes, their solution involves four key steps: pulling in air with fans, dissolving the CO₂ in a water-based solvent, using electricity through electrodialysis to extract the CO₂ as a gas, and finally collecting pure CO₂ for reuse or permanent storage. - 10.
Metafuels
Metafuels pioneers affordable, scalable Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) with patented aerobrew technology. We convert green methanol into SAF, addressing high costs and production limits to revolutionize aviation.
- Switzerland
- 2021
- Series A
Industry Problem: Metafuels is tackling the challenge of decarbonizing aviation by making Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) affordable and scalable, addressing the high costs and production limits of current e-fuel technologies. Phase Biolabs is tackling the dual challenge of industrial CO₂ emissions and fossil fuel dependence by converting waste CO₂ into valuable, sustainable chemicals and electrofuels.R&D Focus: Metafuels focuses its R&D on developing innovative catalytic systems for converting green methanol into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Their niche lies in creating scalable, efficient, and cost-competitive technology, specifically the aerobrew process, that addresses key challenges in producing affordable, net-zero aviation fuels from renewable feedstocks.Innovative Solution: Metafuels uses their proprietary aerobrew technology, an innovative catalytic process that converts green methanol—made from renewable hydrogen and sustainably sourced carbon, into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). This scalable and efficient solution enables affordable, large-scale production of net-zero SAF, overcoming cost and supply challenges faced by existing e-fuel technologies.Solution Effectiveness: Metafuels’ aerobrew technology has demonstrated ultra-high selectivity in converting green methanol to SAF at their pilot plant, successfully meeting key performance indicators (KPIs). Their scalable process aims to reach production capacities of up to 1,000 tons of SAF per day by the mid-2030s, starting with pioneer projects producing between 10 to 100 tons per day. This efficiency and scalability position aerobrew as a competitive and effective solution for large-scale sustainable aviation fuel production.
Emerging Startups solving critical problems in Carbon Capture
Emerging Startups solving
critical problems in Carbon Capture

