Captura’s Year in Review
Captura Looks Back at 2023
As 2023 draws to a close, Captura reflects on a remarkable year of growth, strategic collaborations, partnerships, pilot expansions, and recognition for our pioneering efforts in ocean-based carbon removal technology. We are proud to end the year with a major milestone; our 100-ton-per-year ocean carbon removal system at AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles is successfully operating end-to-end and capturing excess CO2 from the ocean. Using our Direct Ocean Capture (DOC) technology, this is our second operating pilot system!
The success of our 100-ton-per-year system lays the groundwork for large-scale commercialization and highlights the rapid progress Captura is making toward being a global climate solution. We thank SoCalGas for the funding of our pilot– it has been instrumental to the success of our pilot program and our efforts to scale up our technology so it can make a meaningful impact on the climate challenge.
Strategic Partnerships and Global Expansion
As we continue to grow our company, a major highlight has been the announcement of new pilot plants in Quebec and Norway in 2024 through strategic partnerships. Next year, we’re working with Deep Sky to deploy a Captura pilot system in Canada, starting with a pilot demonstration in Eastern Quebec that can capture 100 tons of CO2 from the ocean annually. Our collective aim is to eventually build commercial facilities in Canada that capture between 100,000 and one million tons annually.
That’s not our only pilot expansion next year. Captura is partnering with Equinor, a major player in the energy and engineering sectors, to deploy a 1,000-ton-per-year plant in Norway that can potentially serve as a launchpad to build large-scale, commercial plants in key regions around the world. The CO2 captured at this pilot is planned for the commissioning of the Northern Lights facilities – the world’s first open-source CO2 transport and storage infrastructure. This will be the final system in Captura’s technology piloting program and positions Captura to rapidly scale DOC and meet the increasing demand for sustainable solutions.
Captura wishes to thank all our partners and vendors who work with us every day to develop and grow our business and technology.
MRV Milestones and Investor Confidence
Captura believes the ocean is our greatest ally against climate change—but only if we take care of it. In October, Captura released our Carbon Dioxide Removal Pathway, outlining our practices for both monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) and ensuring our ocean operations are safe for the marine ecosystem. This will be a living document where we’ll publish data and results from our pilot systems and testing work, marking a crucial step in promoting transparency and accountability.
As part of a commitment to accountability, carbon credit suppliers collaboratively crafted the Reykjavik Protocol—a set of principles guiding responsible market entry. Captura proudly signed and supports these principles, standing alongside fellow innovators deploying technologies that harness natural processes to combat excess carbon in our environment.
Early this year, Captura announced our US$12 million Series A financing round. This milestone not only injected essential capital into the company but also brought aboard a global cohort of strategic investors who bring key experience and expertise to help us scale and deploy our solution.
Stay tuned for more major funding news in the new year!
Internal Growth
Captura experienced substantial internal growth, expanding our team, and almost tripling its size in less than a year! This expansion included new team members in our Engineering, Pilot plant, Oceanography and MRV, Electrodialysis, Communication, and Human Resources teams.
Recognition
Captura’s commitment to innovation and environmental stewardship did not go unnoticed, as Captura was named one of the most promising climate tech startups of 2023 by Business Insider, and one of the 10 most prominent ocean carbon removal companies by Carbon Herald. Our work in the carbon removal space also earned mentions in Reuters, The Times, The Verge, Time Magazine, Axios and more.
Government Recognition and Policy Advancements
2023 was a big year for climate policy momentum and support for carbon removal and ocean-based solutions. At COP28, we saw positive progress with new language agreed for the first time on the need to transition away from fossil fuels, and reference to the role of carbon removal. In the European Union (EU), the Carbon Removal Certification Framework has entered the final negotiation stage, a crucial last step toward adoption of this important framework to scale up, certify, and verify carbon removals in the EU.
Closer to home, Captura was encouraged to see the U.S. government introduce the new Fast-Track Action Committee on Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal as part of its new Ocean Climate Action Plan – the first-ever, government-wide approach for leveraging the power of the ocean to combat climate change.
We were also pleased to see the U.S. Department of Energy release details for its $35M Commercial CDR Purchase Prize in which it will directly procure carbon removal from solutions that “capture CO2 that is already in the atmosphere or upper hydrosphere”. We support this “one-ecosytem” approach that reinforces the need for a portfolio of strategies from both land and sea because they so closely interact.
As 2023 ends, Captura recognizes that even with these positive developments, much more work is needed, and thank all those working hard to develop and grow climate policies and markets so we can collectively progress on our climate goals.
Looking Forward to 2024
As Captura concludes this transformative year, we remain steadfast in our commitment to advancing feasible, scalable solutions for carbon removal. The partnerships, investments, and achievements of 2023 position Captura as a high-potential solution to help combat climate change through our innovative DOC technology. With our technology piloting program rapidly progressing, and a growing number of global partners and investors joining our team, we are gearing up to be ready for commercial scale in the near future. As we eagerly anticipate the year ahead, Captura is poised to continue its impactful journey toward a more sustainable and net-zero future.
We hope you can follow along and remember to sign up to receive exciting updates and milestones from Captura in 2024!
