A tricky part of carbon capture technology is the energy required to pull it off. Many critics, while agreeing on the need to pull carbon dioxide out of the air, say that existing technologies might produce more emissions than they remove. Now, startups are getting creative to optimize carbon capture technology. 

Verdox is a startup that tackles carbon capture through electrochemistry. Their method of pulling CO2 out of the air involves no heat, unlike other technologies. What they do instead is put stacks of electrodes together, run specific voltages of electricity through them, and attract and bind CO2 molecules into the system. With different voltages, they can also detach the CO2 molecules and then store them for other purposes. 

The proposed Verdox system is scalable and offers many possibilities. To collect more CO2, all that needs to be done is to add more stacks of electrodes, avoiding costly redesigns for larger jobs. The system also does well extracting a variety of CO2 concentrations, meaning that industries can use it to reduce their emissions or systems can be set up to pull CO2 right out of the air. 

Approaching this problem with the principles of electrochemistry and organic chemistry, Verdox’s system can pull CO2 molecules out of the air with much more precision and efficiency. And it can do this for a lot less money and energy. 

This startup has already received tens of millions in funding and plans to put multiple projects in place at several companies by the end of 2022. Its goal is to have its tech widespread at an industry level by 2030.