What is Calcarea?
Shipboard carbon capture that converts CO2 into ocean-safe bicarbonate using limestone and seawater.
- Category
- Maritime carbon capture
- Headquarters
- Pasadena / Los Angeles, CA
- Founded
- 2023
- Employees
- Private; small Caltech-founded team
- Total funding
- $3.5M reported by PitchBook
- Valuation
- Not disclosed
What is Calcarea?
Calcarea develops onboard carbon-capture technology for cargo ships that reacts captured CO2 with limestone and seawater to store carbon as bicarbonate in the ocean.
Calcarea is a Caltech-founded climate startup targeting hard-to-abate maritime emissions through accelerated natural weathering chemistry. Revenue and ARR are not publicly disclosed; customer count is not publicly disclosed. Its public positioning is ocean-based carbon capture and storage for commercial shipping.
As of June 2026, Calcarea is best read as an early startup moving from research and prototype work into maritime partnerships. The most important operating signals are Caltech origin, Port of Los Angeles prototype coverage, a 2025 Aurelia Design collaboration, USC/Caltech research, and $3.5M reported funding. Calcarea remains private company, so exact margins, revenue mix, and customer contract values are not publicly reported unless stated by the company.
What does Calcarea offer?
Calcarea offers shipboard carbon-capture reactors, limestone-weathering chemistry, vessel-integration partnerships, and maritime decarbonization projects.
- Shipboard CO2 capture· Hardware
- Limestone weathering reactor· Chemistry
- Ocean bicarbonate storage· Carbon storage
- Vessel integration· Deployment
- Maritime decarbonization partnerships· Commercial
How does Calcarea make money?
Calcarea is expected to monetize through shipboard systems, licensing, integration projects, carbon-credit or compliance value, and maritime partnerships.
No public list pricing; commercial pricing is quoted by deployment, customer scale, geography, and service scope. Pricing is not public; project economics depend on vessel size, emissions profile, limestone logistics, integration cost, verification, and carbon/regulatory value.
Growth depends on shipping emissions regulation, vessel integration, reactor performance, safety validation, MRV acceptance, and strategic ship-design partnerships. For sellers, the most relevant budget owners are ship owners, fleet operators, naval architects, maritime fuel and compliance teams, sustainability leaders, and carbon-credit buyers; procurement maturity should be treated as startup or growth-stage, with technical founders and operators close to vendor decisions.
Who leads Calcarea?
Calcarea is led by Jess Adkins, Founder; Brian Ley, Company builder / venture architect.
- Jess AdkinsFounderFounder since 2023Caltech chemical oceanographer behind the core limestone-weathering approach.
- Brian LeyCompany builder / venture architectPublic LinkedIn rolePublicly associated with building Calcarea as a climate company.
How do you contact Calcarea's leadership?
Calcarea publishes official company contact routes, but reviewed public sources do not verify personal executive email addresses. Use the company route below or a verified LinkedIn/workflow enrichment step before sending individual outreach.
Official routes at calcarea.com; personal executive pattern not verifiedSources:Calcarea contactCalcarea website
How much funding has Calcarea raised?
$3.5M reported by PitchBook; latest disclosed financing: Seed/early funding from Caltech-linked and climate investors. Not disclosed
2023-2025: Seed/early funding, $3.5M reported, led by early climate and Caltech-linked investors, valuation not disclosed.
The company has not publicly disclosed every valuation or all small non-dilutive awards, so totals should be read as disclosed funding rather than a fully audited capitalization table. The latest financing signal matters because it funds prototype development, ship-integration partnerships, MRV work, and commercial maritime pilots.
How did Calcarea get here?
Calcarea's path is defined by founding, technical validation, financing, and commercialization milestones.
- 2023Founded from CaltechCalcarea begins commercializing shipboard ocean-carbon chemistry.
- 2023Caltech magazine coverageCalcarea and Captura are profiled as Caltech ocean carbon startups.
- 2025USC/Caltech researchResearch shows shipboard limestone/seawater system could cut ship CO2 by up to half.
- Nov 2025Aurelia partnershipCalcarea and Aurelia Design announce collaboration for commercial shipping.
- 2026AltaSea visibilityCalcarea appears in marine carbon-removal activity at AltaSea.
Who are Calcarea's competitors?
Calcarea competes with companies in undefined.
- SeaboundOnboard carbon capture for ships using solid sorbents.
- Carbon RidgeMaritime carbon capture systems for vessels.
- Daphne TechnologyMarine exhaust gas abatement and carbon capture.
- Value MaritimeShip emissions reduction and onboard carbon capture.
- CapturaOcean carbon removal technology from Caltech ecosystem.
Calcarea — frequently asked questions
