Equatic, a spinout from UCLA, accelerates the ocean’s natural carbon storage abilities through seawater electrolysis and says it can remove carbon 99,000 times faster than the open ocean. The process, which runs an electric current through seawater and channels atmospheric air through it, traps CO2 in ocean minerals where they can be stored almost indefinitely. Even better, the clean-powered process creates green hydrogen as a byproduct.
The startup exceeded its initial target to raise $11.6 million in a series A round co-led by Temasek Trust’s Catalytic Capital for Climate and Health, or CH3, and Singapore’s climate-focused private equity firm and impact investor, Kibo Invest. The Aga Khan Foundation and other angels participated in the round.
Green hydrogen
The funding will finance the construction of Equatic’s first commercial plant, being built in Canada. The plant is expected to remove more than 100,000 tons of carbon per year, helping to bring the cost down to less than $100 per ton by 2030. Equatic signed a five-year deal with Boeing in 2023 to supply 2,100 tons of green hydrogen, while helping the company remove 62,000 tons of carbon.
“Equatic’s technology and approach exemplify the type of bold and scalable innovation that aligns with C3H’s mandate,” CH3’’s Ryan Tan said. The startup, he added, is offering “permanent, durable carbon removal with green hydrogen production for scalable, tangible impact and commercial benefit.”
Catalytic capital
Equatic, which spun out of UCLA’s Samueli School of Engineering’s Institute for Carbon Management, received early philanthropic backing from Temasek Foundation, which connected the startup to Singapore’s national water agency, PUB, to develop its first pilot plant.
The LA-based startup went on to receive $1 million in catalytic funding from the foundation’s The Liveability Challenge. Equatic has also received catalytic backing from the Boston-based Grantham Foundation, via its early-stage venture capital arm Neglected Climate Opportunities.
Equatic received early funding from the National Science Foundation, which recently suspended more than 300 grants at UCLA totaling as much as $180 million; a federal judge this week ordered the Trump administration to partially restore the grants.
