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§ Private Profile · Pasadena, CA, USA
Environmental technology company developing Direct Ocean Capture for CO₂ removal from seawater and electrodialysis systems.
Based in Pasadena, California, Captura develops Direct Ocean Capture technology that utilizes renewable energy and electrodialysis to extract carbon dioxide directly from seawater without producing chemical additives or waste byproducts. The company also manufactures high-performance electrodialysis systems for industrial applications, including desalination, wastewater treatment, and direct lithium extraction. To support these operations, Captura established a 30,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, which serves as the first domestic site to produce complete electrodialysis systems from membrane fabrication to stack assembly. The enterprise received a $249,975 grant from the United States Department of Energy and successfully demonstrated its technology at a 100-tonne scale. Additionally, the organization deployed a 1,000-tonne pilot plant in Hawaii and partnered with Northern Lights to sequester captured emissions 2,600 meters beneath the Norwegian seabed. Captura was founded in 2021 by a team of researchers from Caltech.
Captura has raised $43.5M across 3 funding rounds.
Captura has raised $43.5M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Captura is a Caltech-founded technology company specializing in Direct Ocean Capture (DOC) of CO₂, using high-performance electrodialysis to remove carbon from seawater for permanent storage or reuse.[1][3][4][5] It serves the environmental and climate restoration industries by providing a scalable, verifiable CO₂ removal solution that boosts the ocean's natural carbon cycles without chemicals or by-products, targeting gigaton-scale deployment.[1][2][3] The company has demonstrated strong growth momentum through successful pilots—scaling 1,000x while meeting performance indicators—and is now advancing to commercial plants removing tens of thousands to millions of tons of CO₂ annually, leveraging existing ocean infrastructure like desalination plants and retired oil rigs.[1][4]
Powered solely by seawater and renewable electricity, Captura's systems feature proprietary ultra-efficient membranes for streamlined, low-cost operation, with backing from partners like Equinor, XPRIZE, Frontier, and the U.S. Department of Energy.[1][3][4][6]
Captura emerged from Caltech labs in 2021, based in Pasadena, California, with a mission to heal the climate at scale by harnessing the ocean's natural carbon sink.[2][3][5] Founders, guided by strict scientific research, studied ocean cycles to develop an electrodialysis-based DOC process that amplifies natural removal without environmental harm.[1][3] Key early milestones include the first pilot at Caltech’s Kerckhoff Marine Laboratory in 2022, a second-generation system at AltaSea in the Port of L.A. in 2023, and a third pilot at Hawai’i Ocean Science & Technology Park with Equinor in 2025, validating commercial readiness.[1][4]
Pivotal traction came from industry partnerships, such as Equinor's validation of the DOC system and DOE funding for offshore platform designs, propelling Captura from lab concept to large-scale commercialization.[1][4][6]
Captura rides the Direct Ocean Capture trend within carbon dioxide removal (CDR), addressing atmospheric CO₂ via the ocean's vast capacity amid rising demand for verifiable, scalable climate solutions.[1][3][4] Timing aligns with global net-zero goals, U.S. DOE's Carbon Negative Shot (<$100/tonne by 2032), and partnerships like Equinor for commercialization.[4][6] Favorable market forces include offshore renewables growth, repurposed infrastructure, and credits from XPRIZE/Frontier, positioning DOC as a complement to direct air capture for gigaton needs.[1][3][4]
It influences the ecosystem by pioneering industrial applications of electrodialysis, inspiring ocean-based CDR, and validating protocols that build buyer confidence.[1][4][5]
Captura is poised for commercial deployments in 2025-2026, starting with plants at tens of thousands to millions of tons CO₂/year, expanding to megaton-scale offshore platforms powered by renewables.[1][4] Trends like policy-driven CDR markets, offshore energy integration, and falling electrodialysis costs will accelerate growth, potentially capturing a major share of the ocean CDR niche.[1][3][6] Its influence may evolve by standardizing DOC protocols and enabling industrial CO₂ reuse, solidifying its role from Caltech spinout to climate infrastructure leader—harnessing the ocean to heal the climate at scale.[3][4]
Captura has raised $43.5M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Captura's investors include Future Planet Capital, Julie McDermott, Luís Manuel, Equinor Ventures, Freeflow Ventures, Hitachi Ventures, Ida Christine Brun, mTerra Ventures, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures.
Captura has raised $43.5M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $10.0M Series A in April 2024.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 1, 2024 | $10M Series A | — | Future Planet Capital, Julie Mcdermott | Announced |
| Jan 25, 2024 | $21.5M Series A | — | Luís Manuel, Equinor Ventures, Freeflow Ventures, Future Planet Capital, Hitachi Ventures, IDA Christine Brun, Mterra Ventures, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures | Announced |
| Dec 1, 2022 | $12M Series A | — | Future Planet Capital, Julie Mcdermott | Announced |