Verdox is a carbon capture technology company developing an electrically powered system for capturing carbon dioxide across industrial applications. Rather than relying on the heating and cooling cycles associated with conventional carbon capture, Verdox uses electrical energy to capture and release CO₂. This electrical process is designed to reduce energy consumption while enabling carbon capture across different concentrations and scales.

The distinction matters because the energy requirements of conventional carbon capture can make large-scale deployment difficult. Verdox’s technology consumes less than 1.5 GJ per ton of CO₂ captured and can use up to 70% less energy than competing technologies by eliminating energy losses associated with heating and cooling. Rather than relying on heat to separate and release carbon dioxide, the system uses an electrochemical process that operates entirely on electricity, creating a different energy profile for carbon capture.

Designed for Industrial Conditions

Verdox’s carbon capture system is designed for harsh industrial environments where gas-flow conditions can fluctuate during operation. The electrochemical process can adapt in real time to changes in gas flow, allowing carbon capture to respond to variations in an industrial emissions stream rather than relying on a fixed operating profile. This gives the system the flexibility required for facilities where production conditions and resulting gas flows can change over time.

Scalability and adaptability allow Verdox's carbon capture system to serve different industrial facilities. Verdox uses commercially available equipment and existing supply chains, allowing the system to operate at different scales. The modular system can fit into existing industrial spaces and withstand industrial contaminants. This reduces the need to redesign an entire facility for carbon capture. The system can also be configured to meet the requirements of individual industrial applications.

From Point Sources to Direct Air Capture

Verdox’s technology can capture CO₂ across different concentrations, with industrial point-source applications representing its primary market. Potential applications span industrial manufacturing, oil and gas, power and utilities, chemical production, and metals and smelting. These facilities can generate concentrated streams of carbon dioxide, creating opportunities to capture emissions before they enter the atmosphere.

The technology can also be adapted for direct air capture, where carbon dioxide exists at much lower concentrations in ambient air. This gives Verdox's electrochemical system a potential role across both concentrated industrial emissions and atmospheric carbon removal. The same underlying principles of electrical operation, modularity, and scalability provide the foundation for these different applications.

An Electrochemical Route to Capture

Verdox’s process centers on a molecule known as a quinone, represented as Q, which moves through a repeating electrochemical cycle. The first stage activates Q by adding an electron, converting it into its active form, Q*. When the activated quinone encounters CO₂ in an incoming gas stream, it binds with the carbon dioxide to form Q*CO₂, capturing the gas within the system.

The captured carbon dioxide is then released by removing an electron from Q*CO₂. This regenerates Q and releases the CO₂, while the regenerated molecule can be recycled for another capture cycle. The repeated sequence of activation, capture, release, and recycling allows carbon dioxide to be separated without the heat-intensive regeneration process used by conventional systems.

ABOUT | FRIEDRICH VON GOTTBERG

Friedrich von Gottberg, PhD, serves as president, CEO, and a board member of Verdox, bringing more than 25 years of business and technical leadership in specialty chemicals and materials science. His career spans early-stage specialty ventures and large, established commodity businesses, giving him experience across different types and stages of industrial enterprises.

Before Verdox, von Gottberg served as president and CEO of Voxel8, an additive manufacturing company acquired by Kornit Digital. He previously spent more than 20 years at Cabot Corporation, where he held leadership positions including vice president of research and development, vice president of the New Business Segment, and president of the Purification Solutions business. A chemical engineer by training, he holds a PhD and Master of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor's degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. His technical and commercial background aligns with Verdox's work at the intersection of industrial technology, materials science, and large-scale carbon capture.