In a new Series B funding round, Captura has secured $12.5 million to expand the production of its bipolar membrane electrodialysis platform in the United States.
The founding round was led by Equinor Ventures, with support from existing investors Aramco Ventures, EDP Ventures, Eni Next, Freeflow Ventures, Hitachi Ventures, Japan Airlines & TransLink Innovation Fund, L.P. (JAL Innovation Fund), Maersk Growth, mTerra Ventures, and National Grid Partners.
Equinor’s investment in Captura builds on an existing long-term collaboration agreement between the two companies and follows the commercial validation of Captura’s Direct Ocean Capture (DOC) technology done through a joint technology qualification program.
With this financial boost, Captura will expand the domestic manufacturing of its bipolar membrane electrodialysis platform, which serves a range of resource-critical markets, such as critical minerals, industrial water, energy storage, and CO2 management.
Pasadena-based Captura runs the only U.S.-based production plant that creates complete electrodialysis systems.
Moving forward, the company intends to amp up the domestic production capacity in order to meet the growing demand for energy-efficient, low-cost electrochemical solutions.
Its PFAS-free bipolar membrane electrodialysis platform was originally developed to power its DOC system, which serves to remove carbon dioxide from seawater for permanent CO2 storage or utilization.
Using a specialized stack of membranes, the platform generates acid and base streams, enabling solutions for a range of sectors, such as direct lithium extraction, industrial water treatment, long-duration energy storage, and carbon removal.
Relevant: Equinor And Captura Validate DOC System For Commercial Deployment
According to the company, this proprietary technology has demonstrated greater performance than the leading market alternatives, with significantly lower energy consumption and capital costs.
For Captura, the Series B funding comes after the Californian company secured a number of purchase orders for its first electrodialysis stacks catering to the lithium extraction market, with initial deliveries expected this summer.
Commenting that the company is now entering a new phase of commercial execution, Captura CEO Steve Oldham shared, “We are now manufacturing electrodialysis systems for customers while continuing to advance commercial deployment of direct ocean capture globally.”
Read more: Captura Wins Supplier Deal For eSAF Plant In France Using Ocean-Captured CO2
