Captura, Equinor Complete Direct Ocean CO2 Capture Qualification Program

Direct Ocean CO₂ Capture company Captura and energy company Equinor have completed a year-long qualification program at a pilot facility in Kona, Hawaii. The program tested Captura’s system against 20 critical performance metrics, including safety, operational reliability, CO₂ removal efficiency, and monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV).

The partners report the pilot was successful and validates Captura’s DOC system for commercial deployment.

The ocean is one of the world’s largest carbon sinks, absorbing approximately 30% of global CO₂ emissions. CO₂ is acidic and an overabundance can seriously harm ocean ecosystems. The goal of Direct Ocean Capture (DOC), also known as Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR), is to remove CO₂ from seawater, enabling the ocean to absorb more from the atmosphere.

Captura’s technology extracts CO₂ from a continuous flow of seawater. Additionally it siphons 1% to divide into an acid and a base, returning the base to the seawater that’s restored to the ocean after the carbon dioxide has been removed.

Captured CO₂ can be used for a variety of things–such as as an ingredient to renewable fuels or other products. Captura said the CO₂ captured at its plant in Hawaii will be provided to a range of local industries, such as aquaculture operators, to help reduce the carbon intensity of their operations.

“This collaborative effort has not only de-risked the technology but also demonstrated its scalability through established test plans and milestones” said Lionel Ribeiro, Carbon Removal Manager at Equinor. “Captura’s ability to attract a diverse coalition of strategic partners further underscores the scaling potential.”

Captura is now assessing potential sites for its first commercial-scale DOC project. Design is already underway for a facility that captures between 30,000 and 50,000 tons of CO₂ annually, with multiple high-graded locations under consideration in Europe, the UK, and Asia-Pacific.

“This milestone with Equinor is a critical step in bringing direct ocean capture to market,” said Steve Oldham, CEO of Captura. “Equinor’s deep expertise as a global energy leader brought the rigor and critical perspective needed to validate our technology against the demanding standards required for large-scale deployment. We greatly value their partnership throughout this process and as we continue to prepare for commercial roll-out.”