Waste to value: the 11 startups leading on carbon capture and utilization

Reducing the impact of climate change requires urgent action to cut fossil fuel emissions. While many industries are transitioning to low-carbon alternatives, hard-to-abate sectors – such as fuels, chemicals, plastics and construction – face significant challenges in fully decarbonizing. For these industries, carbon capture and utilization (CCU) could be part of a broader mitigation strategy by turning CO₂ into valuable resources.

CCU technologies, which capture and convert CO₂ into products like sustainable fuels, chemicals and building materials, could utilize up to 27 gigatonnes of CO₂ cumulatively by 2050, unlocking a $4.4 trillion economic opportunity. While CCU is not the largest emissions reduction lever, it could play a role in scenarios where other solutions – such as electrification, renewable energy or efficiency improvements – are less viable in sectors like cement, steel, aviation and petrochemicals. It adds value by transforming emissions into marketable products, potentially helping to offset some of the costs of decarbonization.

Realizing this potential will require overcoming key challenges, including high costs, limited financing, policy gaps and fragmented value chains. Scaling CCU will depend on sustained innovation, strategic first-mover investments, cross-industry collaboration and enabling policy frameworks. By incorporating captured CO₂ into industrial processes, CCU supports a more sustainable, circular economy while potentially contributing to emissions reductions in hard-to-abate sectors.

UpLink, in partnership with the Ministry of Economy and Planning and the Ministry of Energy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, launched the Carbon Capture and Utilization Innovation Challenge to accelerate progress. This initiative identified 11 pioneering startups developing solutions that merge science, technology and business to convert carbon waste into value. These innovators are not only capturing CO₂ but also creating new markets for sustainable fuels, advanced materials and industrial applications.

Removing CO₂ directly from ambient air is one of the most ambitious approaches to climate action. Parallel Carbon is pushing this frontier by integrating direct air capture (DAC) with water electrolysis, powered by renewable energy, to simultaneously remove CO₂ and produce clean hydrogen. This dual process not only captures carbon, but also supports the transition to green fuels, offering an alternative to fossil-based hydrogen in heavy industries. Greenlyte Technologies is advancing a low-energy, low capital expenditure CO₂ capture process from ambient air, producing hydrogen for CO₂-to-hydrocarbon conversion. Their approach enables a fully cyclic absorbent regeneration process, making carbon removal more efficient and scalable.

Industrial carbon capture can be leveraged not only to reduce emissions, but also to create high-performance materials that support sustainable supply chains. Up Catalyst is using molten salt carbon capture and electrochemical transformation (MSCC-ET) to convert CO₂ into sustainable carbon nanomaterials and graphite. These materials, crucial for battery production, paints and reinforced concrete, provide an alternative to fossil-derived inputs, reducing environmental impact.

Carbon to stone (CTS) is taking a different approach by converting CO₂ and industrial waste into solid carbonates while recovering critical minerals like lithium and cobalt, essential for battery production and clean technology applications. By integrating carbon utilization with material extraction, they are transforming industrial emissions into valuable resources.

For sectors that cannot easily electrify, converting CO₂ into fuels, industrial chemicals and specialty products presents a potential pathway toward carbon neutrality, depending on the sources of CO₂. ICODOS is revolutionizing e-methanol production by designing a flexible process that adapts to renewable energy fluctuations and diverse CO₂ sources, making it a more sustainable alternative for shipping and high-emission industries.

D-CRBN employs modular plasma technology to convert CO₂ into CO, an essential feedstock for carbon-neutral fuels, organic acids and polymers, reducing reliance on petrochemicals. Dioxycle is leveraging renewable electricity to transform CO₂ into ethylene, a key component for jet fuel, textiles and construction materials.

Similarly, eChemicles has developed a scalable CO₂-to-CO electrolyzer, using green electricity to transform CO₂ into CO and ethylene while achieving a 90% lower CO₂ footprint than conventional methods. Oxylus Energy provides a cost-effective and scalable solution for CO₂-to-methanol conversion, enabling on-site decarbonization for heavy industries while supplying sustainable inputs for petrochemical applications.

Beyond fuels, CO₂ can also be converted into specialty chemicals that enable more advanced industrial applications. enaDyne is pioneering non-thermal plasma catalysis to convert CO₂ into methanol and ethylene, two essential building blocks for sustainable chemical production. By offering a low-energy alternative to traditional methods, the company is driving innovation in carbon utilization for the chemical sector. Nanjing Gasgene Biotechnology is taking a biotechnological approach, using gene editing and gas fermentation to transform industrial off-gas into carbon-neutral chemicals and protein feedstock. This innovation not only contributes to emissions reduction, but also aligns with broader sustainability goals, including food security.

These startups exemplify the value of transforming CO₂ into valuable products which might contribute to carbon-neutrality, but also create new revenue streams and support the development of a circular economy. Their innovations highlight the potential for cross-sector collaboration to work towards net-zero emissions and unlock the economic potential of carbon as a resource.