Captura establishes new headquarters and manufacturing facility in Pasadena
Creates first U.S. facility to domestically produce bipolar membranes and electrodialysis systems
PASADENA, Calif., June 10, 2025 — Captura, a leading Direct Ocean Capture (DOC) company, today announced the establishment of its new global headquarters and manufacturing facility in Pasadena, California. The 30,000-square-foot site will house the company’s growing team, expand R&D capacity, and launch commercial production of Captura’s high-performance electrodialysis technology—making this the first facility in the U.S. to manufacture complete electrodialysis systems, from membrane fabrication to stack assembly.
Founded at Caltech in 2021, Captura’s advanced electrodialysis system delivers up to 10 times higher performance than commercially available alternatives while requiring less capital investment and energy. Production of this technology will serve dual purposes: powering Captura’s DOC carbon removal systems while also being sold to a range of industries, including desalination, wastewater treatment, critical mineral extraction, new energy, life sciences, and other electrochemical carbon removal approaches. The expanded operations also position Captura to grow its workforce, generating additional skilled jobs in engineering, manufacturing, and operations.
“This new facility is a major step forward in scaling Captura’s operations and accelerating commercial deployment,” said Steve Oldham, CEO of Captura. “It also reflects our commitment to advancing homegrown technologies through American manufacturing. As the first U.S. manufacturing center for full electrodialysis systems, we’re creating local jobs, strengthening regional supply chains, and establishing domestic production capabilities for a high-demand electrochemical technology, reducing American dependence on foreign-made components.”
Captura’s proprietary electrodialysis technology—a process that uses ion-selective membranes and electrical current to separate ions in solution—significantly outperforms commercially available systems in both efficiency and cost. At the core of this advancement is Captura’s high-performance, PFAS-free bipolar membrane, which is made using polymer materials that are significantly less expensive than commercially available options. Captura has also developed an improved electrodialysis stack design that further enhances overall system performance.
“Our electrodialysis technology was born in Caltech’s Pasadena laboratories, so it’s fitting that we’re now scaling its commercial production here,” said CX Xiang, Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of Captura. “This facility enables us to develop, optimize, customize and manufacture our best-in-class bipolar membranes and electrodialysis stacks in-house—a vertically integrated approach that positions Captura to deliver one of, if not the, highest-performance and lowest-cost electrodialysis solutions on the market.”
Electrodialysis technology is instrumental for multiple industries including desalination, wastewater treatment, critical mineral extraction, and life sciences. Producing Captura’s advanced systems domestically can help dramatically reduce costs across these sectors and strengthen America’s position in the global technology supply chain.
Captura’s electrodialysis system also forms the basis of its DOC technology, which extracts CO₂ directly from seawater without chemical additives or waste products. This creates a measurable stream of CO₂ that can be permanently stored or utilized in a range of industrial applications, while allowing the ocean to naturally absorb more CO₂ from the atmosphere.
More information on Captura’s proprietary electrodialysis technology can be found here.
