What Calcarea does

Calcarea is a Los Angeles-based climate technology startup founded in 2022 that develops shipboard carbon capture systems based on its proprietary Accelerated Weathering of Limestone (AWL) process. The company's reactor technology captures CO2 from vessel exhaust and converts it into bicarbonate salts through a seawater-limestone reaction that mimics natural ocean chemistry, accelerating a process that takes millennia into approximately one minute and storing carbon for up to 100,000 years. According to company sources, the system can capture up to 50% of a ship's CO2 emissions at an estimated $100 per ton and is designed to be smaller, more efficient, and lower cost than existing marine on-board carbon capture alternatives, while eliminating dependency on port-side CO2 handling infrastructure.

Calcarea's primary customer segment is commercial shipping companies, particularly shipowners and ship operators seeking to comply with the International Maritime Organization's 2050 net-zero emissions target. A secondary segment is coastal industrial emitters including power, cement, and wastewater treatment facilities. The company has a deep research partnership with Caltech (where co-founder Jess Adkins is a professor) and USC (where co-founder Will Berelson is a professor), giving it a decade-long academic foundation. The company employs approximately 10 people and operates pilot activities at AltaSea in the Port of Los Angeles, with engineering work conducted at the Port of Long Beach.

Calcarea's business model centers on future hardware sales or leasing of ship-mounted AWL reactors to shipping companies, with potential technology licensing to shipbuilders and maritime equipment manufacturers, and managed carbon capture services for coastal industrial sites. The company is currently pre-commercial, with only $3.5 million in disclosed seed funding from Lomar Labs and is generating no revenue. Its go-to-market is enterprise field sales to shipowners and operators, supplemented by strategic co-development partnerships (notably with Lomar and Aurelia Design B.V.) and content-driven thought leadership across maritime trade publications and industry competitions such as The Captain's Table at Hong Kong Maritime Week, which Calcarea won in 2025.

Name

Calcarea

Legal name

Calcarea, Inc.

Website

https://calcarea.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Calcarea is a Los Angeles-based climate technology startup developing shipboard reactors that use Accelerated Weathering of Limestone to convert commercial vessel CO2 emissions into ocean-stored bicarbonate salts. It targets commercial shipping companies seeking IMO 2050 compliance and coastal industrial emitters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marine Carbon Capture Systems

SIC

Industrial Process Furnaces & Ovens (3567)

akta.pro primary industry

Ocean-Based Carbon Removal (Alkalinity Enhancement, Seaweed, Ocean Biomass Sinking) (EUABAFAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

CO₂ Shipping & Marine Transport (Liquefaction, Carriers, Terminals) (EUABAHAB), Ballast Water, Bilge & Wastewater Treatment Systems (Environmental/Utility) (IMAJAIAJ)

Keywords

• Marine carbon capture
• Carbon capture technology
• Shipboard emissions reduction
• Ocean-based carbon storage
• Accelerated weathering limestone

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Shipboard Carbon Capture Systems: Pre-commercial stage. Revenue model will involve selling or leasing ship-mounted carbon capture reactors to shipping companies. The company is building pilot programs with shipowners and ship operators for initial deployment.
2. Technology Licensing: Potential licensing of Accelerated Weathering of Limestone technology to shipbuilders and maritime equipment manufacturers for integration into new vessel designs.
3. Carbon Capture Services for Coastal Industrial Emitters: Targeting coastal industrial emitters including power plants, cement facilities, and wastewater treatment plants with carbon capture solutions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Calcarea develops shipboard carbon capture reactor systems based on Accelerated Weathering of Limestone (AWL) technology. The reactors capture CO2 from vessel exhaust and convert it into oceanic bicarbonate salts through a seawater-limestone reaction process, enabling permanent carbon storage in the ocean for up to 100,000 years without requiring port-side carbon offloading infrastructure.

Product overview

Calcarea offers a single unified product: the Shipboard Carbon Capture Reactor based on Accelerated Weathering of Limestone (AWL) technology. The system captures CO2 emissions directly from vessel exhaust and converts them into oceanic bicarbonate through a seawater-limestone reaction process, enabling permanent carbon storage in the ocean without requiring port infrastructure for carbon offloading.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Shipboard Carbon Capture Reactor A reactor system based on Accelerated Weathering of Limestone (AWL) technology that captures CO2 from ship exhaust and converts it into bicarbonate salts stable for up to 100,000 years in the ocean. The system uses a seawater-limestone reaction process that mimics natural ocean chemistry and can capture up to half of a vessel's CO2 emissions without requiring port infrastructure for carbon offloading.

Quantifiable outcome

• Can remove up to half (50%) of a ship's CO2 emissions
• +4 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

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Aurelia Design B.V.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Partnership to bring ocean-based carbon capture technology to commercial shipping. Aurelia contributes green ship design and e-systems integration expertise, combining with Calcarea's unique carbon removal process.
• Lomar / Lomar LabscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2023International shipping company Lomar's R&D division partnered with Calcarea in May 2023 to develop the first full-scale ship-mounted prototype reactor. Lomar is also backing Calcarea through its tech fund. The partnership aims to test and commercialize the carbon capture technology on commercial vessels.
• CaltechcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCalcarea is a startup spinoff from Caltech. The technology is based on over a decade of research in leading oceanography laboratories at Caltech. Co-founder Jess Adkins is Smits Family Professor of Geochemistry and Global Environmental Science at Caltech.
• University of Southern California (USC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership with USC. Co-founder Will Berelson is Paxson H. Offield Professor of Marine Systems at USC. The technology was developed through collaboration between Caltech and USC researchers.
• AltaSeamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAltaSea hosts Calcarea's pilot plant deployment at the Port of Los Angeles. AltaSea is a nonprofit focused on accelerating scientific advancement, job creation, and economic growth in the Blue Economy.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Equatic: Equatic builds ocean-based carbon removal systems that electrolyze seawater to capture CO2 as bicarbonate and produce hydrogen. Most direct comparable to Calcarea: both deploy ocean chemistry-based CDR, target industrial and shipping emitters, and produce durable bicarbonate storage.
• Captura: Captura uses electrochemical ocean processes to extract CO2 from seawater, leveraging ocean alkalinity to enable low-cost carbon removal. Directly comparable as an ocean-based CO2 capture startup pursuing durable storage and commercial-scale CDR.
• Banyu Carbon: Banyu Carbon develops ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) technology to capture CO2 and store it as dissolved bicarbonate in seawater. Operates in the same ocean-based CDR category as Calcarea, focused on cost-effective durable storage.
• Project Vesta: Project Vesta accelerates coastal olivine weathering to capture and store ocean CO2. Directly comparable as an ocean-based enhanced weathering CDR company; Calcarea's own Head of Business Development previously helped grow Project Vesta and secured its first-of-a-kind pilot.
• 44.01: 44.01 mineralizes CO2 by reacting it with peridotite in seawater, permanently storing carbon as bicarbonate and carbonate. Shares Calcarea's core scientific premise of accelerated ocean mineralization as permanent CDR and is a leading ocean-based removal player.

Broad incumbents

• Wartsila: Wartsila is a major marine technology and engine OEM with active carbon capture and storage programs for shipping, including NOx and CO2 reduction systems. Relevant as an established incumbent shaping maritime decarbonization standards that Calcarea's technology must integrate with.
• MAN Energy Solutions: MAN Energy Solutions is a leading marine engine OEM developing ammonia and methanol-ready engines and onboard CCS concepts. Represents the engine-OEM side of the maritime decarbonization stack where shipboard carbon capture ultimately must be deployed.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/calcarea

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Calcarea