Mission Zero

# Mission Zero Technologies: High-Level Overview

Mission Zero Technologies is a London-based direct air capture (DAC) startup developing electrochemical technology to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere and convert it into valuable products or permanently sequester it.[1][2] Founded in summer 2020 by spinning out from DSV, the company has raised $32.6M in funding and operates with fewer than 25 employees.[1] Rather than selling carbon removal as a standalone service, Mission Zero positions itself as a versatile technology provider that partners with industries to create sustainable fuels, carbon-negative building materials, and permanent carbon storage solutions—essentially transforming atmospheric CO₂ into a feedstock for the post-fossil economy.[2][4]

The company's mission extends beyond incremental carbon reduction: it seeks to recover one billion tonnes of atmospheric CO₂ annually by deploying modular, plug-and-play DAC systems globally.[2] This ambition reflects a belief that if atmospheric carbon can become the world's default carbon source, industries can simultaneously decarbonize and quit fossil fuels entirely.[4]

# Origin Story

Mission Zero was founded by Dr Gaël Gobaille-Shaw, an electrochemist who made a breakthrough discovery in novel electrochemical DAC systems, alongside fellow Drs Shil and Nick.[2] The company emerged from DSV in 2020 during a period of accelerating climate tech investment, quickly gaining credibility through early partnerships and recognition—it was featured on the 2020 Diamond List and won the prestigious XPRIZE Carbon Removal Award in 2022.[1][3]

Early traction came through strategic partnerships rather than traditional venture sales. In 2021, Stripe—a pioneer in corporate carbon removal commitments—became Mission Zero's first customer, validating the technology's quality and commercial viability.[2] The company then deployed its first DAC plant at the University of Sheffield to pioneer sustainable aviation fuel production, followed by a second plant enabling carbon-negative building materials development, and a third at Deep Sky's Alpha project in Canada for permanent carbon storage.[2] By 2022, Mission Zero had secured £21.8M in Series A funding from climate-focused investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Anglo American, positioning it for scale.[1][2]

# Core Differentiators

• Patent-pending electrochemical technology: Mission Zero's DAC system is described as the "world's most versatile direct air capture technology," offering a plug-and-play, modular solution that works anywhere with access to electricity—a significant advantage over competing DAC approaches.[1][4]

• Vertical integration and in-house expertise: The company manages 100% of its design work in-house with a team of scientists, engineers, and materials experts, maintaining what it describes as a culture of "hyper competency and ownership."[3]

• Multi-pathway carbon utilization: Rather than betting on a single end-use, Mission Zero deploys its technology across three distinct applications—sustainable fuels (e-fuels), carbon-negative building materials, and permanent geological sequestration—reducing technology and market risk.[2][4]

• Strategic partnership model: The company partners with world-class institutions (universities, carbon removal hubs, materials companies) and committed customers (Stripe, Deep Sky, O.C.O Technology) rather than building a captive supply chain, accelerating deployment and validation.[2][3]

# Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Mission Zero operates at the intersection of two converging trends: the urgent need for carbon removal infrastructure and the shift toward circular carbon economies. The timing is critical—while renewable energy addresses future emissions, legacy CO₂ already in the atmosphere requires active removal, and Mission Zero's technology directly addresses this gap.[3][4]

The company is riding several market forces: corporate carbon commitments (exemplified by Stripe's early adoption), regulatory pressure for permanent carbon removal solutions, and growing investment in hard-to-decarbonize sectors like aviation and construction.[2][3] By positioning DAC not as a standalone climate solution but as a carbon feedstock technology for existing industries, Mission Zero sidesteps the "carbon removal is too expensive" narrative and instead frames itself as enabling industrial decarbonization—a more compelling value proposition for customers and investors.[3][4]

Within the cleantech ecosystem, Mission Zero influences how the industry thinks about DAC deployment: moving from large, centralized facilities to modular, distributed systems that can be deployed flexibly across geographies and use cases.[2][3]

# Quick Take & Future Outlook

Mission Zero's trajectory suggests it is positioning itself as a foundational infrastructure provider for the post-fossil economy rather than a niche climate tech vendor. The company's ambition to recover one billion tonnes of CO₂ annually is audacious, but its strategy—deploying working systems today across multiple use cases while building partnerships with committed customers—grounds that ambition in near-term execution.[2][3]

The next phase will likely involve scaling from pilot deployments to commercial production, particularly in sustainable aviation fuels and permanent carbon storage, where regulatory tailwinds and customer demand are strongest.[2][4] Success will depend on whether Mission Zero can maintain its technological edge as larger industrial players (and well-funded competitors) enter the DAC space, and whether its modular approach can achieve the cost reductions necessary for billion-tonne-scale deployment.

The company's influence on the broader ecosystem may ultimately be less about the volume of CO₂ it removes and more about proving that DAC can be economically integrated into existing industrial processes—a shift that could unlock the capital and deployment velocity the climate tech sector needs.