Prehistoric Chemistry Meets Industrial Decarbonization

Mitico, a Caltech spinout based in Los Angeles, is tackling one of climate tech's hardest problems: making industrial carbon capture affordable enough to deploy at scale. The company uses a granulated metal carbonate (GMC) sorbent — a tweaked form of potassium carbonate salt — to capture more than 95% of CO2 from industrial exhaust streams, with a target cost of under $85 per ton at commercial scale.

The startup's primary focus is natural gas power plants, which account for roughly 43% of U.S. electricity generation and represent an enormous source of carbon emissions. Mitico already has two paid pilot projects underway in 2025, validating its technology with real-world industrial partners.

Why It Matters

Mitico raised a $4.3M seed round with backing from Exergon, AP Ventures, and W.L. Gore ventures, and graduated from the Halliburton Labs accelerator. Co-founded by Clement Cid, PhD (CEO), Alan Gu, PhD PE (CTO), and Leopold Dobelle (COO), the team brings deep expertise in chemistry and engineering to a market that desperately needs cost breakthroughs. If Mitico can deliver on its sub-$85/ton target, it could unlock carbon capture for the largest single source of U.S. power generation — a shift that would meaningfully bend the emissions curve.