- CarbonBlue is taking over SeaO2’s assets, while CTRL-S is taking over the DOC company’s IP, SeaO2 co-founder Ruben Brands shared
- This announcement comes a few months after SeaO2 declared bankruptcy
- Ruben Brands himself is starting a new chapter, looking to connect with likeminded professionals to explore new opportunities
SeaO2 co-founder Ruben Brands has shared that the valuable work of the bankrupt company will continue existing through the operations of CarbonBlue and CTRL-S (Climate Tech Rescue, License, & Scale).
This announcement comes a few months after SeaO2, a company focused on direct ocean capture (DOC) through an electrochemical process, declared bankruptcy due to capital not moving fast enough to get operations running.
At that time, the company stated that it was “actively exploring a restart”, given that its technology, patents, a pilot deployment and obtained know-how are of high value in this ocean-based field of carbon dioxide removal (CDR).
With the latest update, Brands clarifies that SeaO2’s assets will now go under the wing of CarbonBlue, while the intellectual property (IP) developed by the SeaO2 team of experts is going into the hands of CTRL-S (Climate Tech Rescue, License, & Scale).
“A big thank you to Iddo Tsur at CarbonBlue and Jason Hochman at CTRL-S and their teams for their trust and for the constructive way we got here,” Brands wrote in a publication. “The technology, know-how and ambition we built over the past years now get the chance to move forward, and I’m confident that in their hands SeaO2‘s work will create even more impact.“
SeaO2’s journey so far
Founded in 2021, Netherlands-based SeaO2 embarked on a mission of developing an affordable and scalable DOC technology.
With this vision in mind, the company spent the last five years working on a system driven by an electrochemical process that uses renewable electricity to extract CO2 directly from seawater.
The potential and promise of this approach attracted over $2 million in funding, and despite public calls for further support, the company didn’t manage to secure the needed funds in the timeframe required to get the ball rolling.
Relevant: SeaO2 Secures $1.9M In Funding For New Water-To-e-SAF Project
This funding gap is one of the major obstacles faced by CDR developers across the spectrum of different pathways and approaches.
Along with the announcement of the SeaO2 legacy moving to CarbonBlue and CTRL-S, Ruben Brands also shared that he is looking to start a new chapter.
To that end, Brands is currently looking for experienced founders and serial entrepreneurs, as well as tech and research experts, to collaborate on new opportunities.
Read more: Dutch Startup SeaO2 Secures Over $2M In Seed Funding For Its Direct Ocean Capture Tech
