Inevitable Turning Seawater into a Carbon Removal Solution with Captura
Sep 30, 2025
In this discussion, Steve Oldham, CEO of Captura and former leader at Carbon Engineering, reveals cutting-edge Direct Ocean Capture (DOC) technology that efficiently extracts CO₂ from seawater. He explains the advantages of utilizing oceans over air, including a no-waste closed-loop process. Oldham delves into deployment strategies—from onshore plants to barge systems—and emphasizes using renewable energy. He also addresses policy gaps in carbon crediting and the significant potential for ocean deacidification while outlining Captura's impressive pilot progress in Hawaii.
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From Space Robotics To Carbon Startups
- Steve joined Carbon Engineering in 2017 and helped scale it from ~15 people to ~150 and a working pilot plant.
- He left before Carbon Engineering's acquisition but remained connected to the team and its progress under Occidental.
Use The Ocean To Do The Hard Work
- Captura avoids the thermodynamic cost of moving huge volumes of air by letting the ocean do the air contact work.
- They remove CO2 from seawater where concentration is ~150× higher than air, making capture easier.
Henry's Law Enables Atmospheric Drawdown
- Henry's Law governs equilibrium between ocean and atmosphere so ocean CO2 removal forces atmospheric drawdown over time.
- Removing CO2 from seawater is functionally equivalent to direct air capture because the ocean and atmosphere re-equilibrate.