What Cella does

Cella Mineral Storage Inc. is a New York-based, pre-revenue climate technology startup founded in 2022 that develops subsurface mineralization technology for permanent geological carbon sequestration. The company's core technology injects captured atmospheric CO2 into volcanic basalt rocks using a water-alternating-gas (WAG) injection technique adapted from oilfield operations, accelerating Earth's natural mineralization process to lock CO2 underground as mineralized rock. Cella reports a 10:1 water-to-gas ratio, materially more efficient than the 25:1 ratio reported for comparable Icelandic basalt projects, and in 2025 became the first private company to demonstrate pure-phase CO2 mineralization for permanent geological storage via a ~460 kg CO2 injection test in Kenya's Central Rift Valley — the fourth known global instance of a DAC and storage system injecting CO2 into geological formations.

Cella combines geological expertise with software solutions for site selection, process monitoring, and long-term verification, and operates a distributed-storage architecture designed to enable smaller-scale carbon capture and storage sites positioned near industrial emitters, avoiding the infrastructure costs of large centralized hubs. The company's go-to-market centers on licensing its mineralization technology to oil and gas producers while also serving direct air capture operators such as Octavia Carbon's Project Hummingbird DAC hub in Kenya, the first commercial DAC plant on the African continent. The company has assembled a deep advisory bench with over 70 years of combined experience in mineral carbon storage and is backed by the Frontier consortium (Meta, Google, Stripe, Shopify), Halliburton Labs, Third Derivative, Counteract, Grantham Foundation, and several climate-focused venture investors.

The business model is dual-track: a near-term revenue stream from carbon removal credit pre-purchase agreements with buyers such as Frontier, and a longer-term stream from technology licensing and royalty arrangements with oil and gas producers and DAC operators. Cella is pre-commercial, with cumulative disclosed funding of approximately $4.8 million across a June 2023 round and a January 2026 Frontier pre-purchase agreement. Pricing for licensing and removal credits is not publicly disclosed and is expected to be negotiated bilaterally with enterprise counterparties.

Name

Cella

Legal name

Cella Mineral Storage Inc.

Website

https://cellamineralstorage.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cella Mineral Storage is a New York-based climate technology startup founded in 2022 that injects captured CO2 into volcanic basalt rocks for permanent geological mineralization. It serves direct air capture operators such as Octavia Carbon and plans to license its mineralization technology to oil and gas producers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Carbon Capture and Storage

akta.pro primary industry

Saline Aquifer Storage Operations (Injection, Plume Management, Pressure Control) (EUABAHAG)

Keywords

• Geologic carbon sequestration
• Carbon mineralization technology
• Subsurface CO2 storage
• Direct air capture storage
• Permanent carbon removal

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Technology Licensing: Cella aims to license its mineralization technology to oil and gas producers to enable smaller-scale, distributed carbon capture and storage sites. This represents the primary revenue model for commercial operations.
2. Carbon Removal Credits: Pre-purchase agreements with Frontier (carbon-buying consortium backed by Meta and Google) funding equipment buildout and data collection before long-term offtake agreements. Represents early-stage revenue through carbon removal credit sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Cella develops subsurface mineralization technology that permanently stores CO2 underground by injecting captured atmospheric carbon into volcanic basalt rocks, where mineralization locks the CO2 in mineralized rock permanently. The company combines proprietary geological methods, including a Water-Alternating-Gas (WAG) injection technique adapted from oilfield operations, with software solutions for site selection, process monitoring, and long-term verification. Cella aims to license this technology to oil and gas producers and provide sequestration services for direct air capture operators, enabling smaller-scale, distributed storage sites positioned near emitters.

Product overview

Cella offers a single unified product focused on permanent carbon removal through subsurface mineralization. The company's core offering is its carbon sequestration technology, which accelerates Earth's natural geologic process to turn CO2 into mineralized rock. They combine geological and software solutions to improve site selection, process monitoring, and long-term verification. The technology is designed to enable smaller-scale, distributed carbon capture and storage sites positioned near emitters, allowing Cella to license its approach to oil and gas producers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cella Mineral Storage Carbon Sequestration Technology Cella's core offering is a subsurface carbon sequestration technology and service that injects captured atmospheric CO2 into volcanic basalt rocks, where mineralization permanently locks the carbon dioxide underground. The technology combines proprietary Water-Alternating-Gas injection techniques with software for site selection, process monitoring, and long-term verification. Cella licenses this approach to oil and gas producers for distributed, smaller-scale storage sites near emitters, and provides sequestration services to direct air capture operators such as Octavia Carbon's Project Hummingbird in Kenya.

Quantifiable outcome

• Water-to-gas ratio of 10:1 - significantly more efficient than comparable projects in Iceland using 25 tons of water per ton of CO2
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Halliburton LabscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 December 2024Halliburton Labs accelerator program cohort member (December 2024). Cella gains access to Halliburton's facilities, global business network, and commercialization expertise as it moves from technology development toward field-scale deployment. The program will culminate in a Finalists Pitch Day in Denver on March 26, 2025, held ahead of the NREL Industry Growth Forum.
• Octavia CarboncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for carbon sequestration at Project Hummingbird in Kenya - the first commercial DAC plant on the African continent. Octavia Carbon commissioned the DAC facility in 2025 and partnered with Cella Mineral Storage for carbon sequestration services.
• ActivateminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization listed on Cella's website. Activate appears to be a research-to-market program providing support for scientific startups.
• Third DerivativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThird Derivative (D3) accelerator cohort member. D3 is an 18-month accelerator focused on clean tech innovations that selected Cella from nearly 450 applicants.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Carbfix: An Icelandic company (now part of Climeworks) that pioneered CO2 injection and mineralization in basalt formations. Direct competitor using the same geological process; the 25:1 water-to-gas ratio Cella benchmarks against comes from Carbfix's Hellisheidi project.
• 44.01: Oman-based company mineralizing CO2 in peridotite formations for permanent geological storage. Direct competitor in the mineralization-as-a-service space, targeting similar oil & gas and DAC customers with a parallel licensing approach.

Emerging players

• Mineral Carbonation International: Australia-based R&D company commercializing mineral carbonation pathways including olivine and basalt-based mineralization. Comparable technology category with overlapping IP and end markets, though at an earlier commercialization stage.
• LanzaTech: US-based company using biological conversion (gas fermentation) to turn captured CO2 and industrial emissions into fuels and chemicals. Comparable as a CO2 utilization pathway competing for the same corporate offtake dollars.
• CarbonCure Technologies: Canadian company that mineralizes CO2 in concrete during the curing process. Adjacent in the carbon mineralization/utilization space, targeting permanent storage through a different material pathway.
• CarbonOrO: UAE-based BECCS project developer pursuing bioenergy with carbon capture and storage. Comparable in the broader carbon sequestration infrastructure space and overlapping in the Middle East/North Africa licensee geography.

Broad incumbents

• Heirloom Carbon: US-based DAC company that uses limestone-based DAC and partners with third parties for permanent storage. Comparable as a demand-side counterpart to Cella's storage service within the voluntary carbon removal market.
• Climeworks: Swiss DAC leader and parent of Carbfix. Operates large-scale DAC plants that require permanent geological storage — both a potential storage customer for Cella and a competitor via the integrated Carbfix solution.
• CarbonCapture Inc. US-based DAC developer building large-scale DAC hubs. Operates adjacent in the carbon removal value chain with parallel demand for permanent storage partnerships and participation in the same voluntary carbon buyer ecosystem (Frontier, etc.).

Others

• Octavia Carbon: Kenya-based DAC operator and Cella's primary commercial partner at Project Hummingbird. Comparable as an adjacent ecosystem participant and a leading indicator for African DAC deployment that Cella is positioning to serve.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cellamineral
• Xx.com/cellaminerals

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cella