Amsterdam, Netherlands – Dutch climate-tech startup SeaO₂ has raised over €2 million in new funding to accelerate its CO₂ removal technology, setting ambitious goals to capture one megaton of CO₂ by 2030 and one gigaton by 2045.
SeaO₂ specializes in Direct Ocean Capture (DOC) technology, which extracts CO₂ from seawater and releases carbon-free water back into the ocean, boosting the ocean’s natural capacity to absorb atmospheric CO₂. With this fresh investment, the company will transition from prototype development to constructing a pilot plant, expand its team, and implement a Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system. The pilot plant, slated to launch in summer 2025, aims to capture 250 tons of CO₂ per year.
Scaling Up Rapidly
SeaO₂’s CEO and co-founder, Ruben Brands, emphasized the significance of this funding milestone: “This investment is a testament to our team’s dedication. With added support beyond previous grants, subsidies, and early customer contributions, we’re poised to scale faster and deepen our climate impact. This brings us a step closer to removing a megaton of CO₂ by 2030 and a gigaton by 2045.”
Strategic Partnerships and Key Milestones
SeaO₂ has collaborated with organizations such as XPRIZE Carbon Removal, TU Delft, Klarna, Wetsus, and Redstack, all of which have fueled the startup’s technological advancement. The company also recently collaborated on a carbon removal project with Paebbl in the Wadden Sea, placed in the XPRIZE competition’s top 100, and shared its innovations at The Next Web, Tech Tour Oceans, and Tech Tour Water.
To drive rapid growth, SeaO₂ participates in accelerator programs including CEEZER, Blue Invest, and AirMiners, while gaining further expertise through PortXL, Creative Destruction Lab / Xprize CDR, and Ocean Vision programs.
Investor Support and Industry Impact
Investors are voicing strong support for SeaO₂’s mission. DOEN Participaties noted, “Innovations like SeaO₂ are crucial as current carbon removal methods lack the necessary scale. Funding is vital to unlocking this sector’s potential for global climate impact.” CarbonFix added, “Our role is to catalyze networks and resources to promote innovative solutions. SeaO₂ exemplifies the impact of these efforts.”
Through participation in key industry initiatives like the Carbon Business Council and the Negative Emissions Platform, SeaO₂ continues to solidify its role in climate-tech, moving toward large-scale carbon removal.
