Reaching net zero requires removing large volumes of CO₂ already present in the atmosphere, year after year. Cutting emissions will not be enough, and durable removal capacity today falls far short of what is needed.
Patent application filed · TRL3 test bench under construction
Direct air capture of atmospheric CO₂, coupled to industrial CO₂ infrastructure
GAÏA is developing a direct air capture process based on aqueous calcium chemistry, designed to be sited next to existing CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure.
Context
The problem
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Carbon removal remains marginal
The volumes of durable CDR available on the market represent a tiny fraction of what climate pathways assume. Supply is constrained by how few technologies can actually be industrialised.
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Cost is the bottleneck
Existing direct air capture processes remain expensive, mainly because of their energy consumption and upfront capital requirements. Until that cost falls, deployment stays confined to demonstration projects.
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Downstream access shapes deployment
Captured CO₂ only has value if it can be transported and stored durably. Projects isolated from transport networks and storage sites face delays and logistics costs that undermine their viability.
Removing CO₂ only matters at industrial scale, and at industrial cost.
Process
The GAÏA approach
GAÏA is designing a direct air capture unit based on aqueous calcium chemistry. Ambient air passes through a gas-liquid-solid contactor where CO₂ is fixed as calcium carbonate. The carbonate is then thermally regenerated, which restores the reagent and releases a concentrated CO₂ stream, ready to be liquefied, transported and stored in deep geological formations.
- Ambient air
- Contactor
- Calcium carbonate
- Thermal regeneration
- Concentrated CO₂
- Geological storage
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Capture from ambient air
CO₂ is drawn directly from the air, with no dependence on an emission source. Removal is therefore measurable and attributable, wherever the unit is sited.
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A reagent regenerated in a loop
The calcium carbonate formed is an intermediate, not a waste. Thermal regeneration restores the original reagent and allows closed-loop operation. A marginal fraction is drawn off as a mineral co-product.
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Storage-ready CO₂
The process delivers a concentrated CO₂ stream, compatible with existing liquefaction, transport and geological storage chains. The carbon removed is permanently sequestered.
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Over-the-fence siting
The unit is designed to sit immediately adjacent to an industrial site already connected to CO₂ infrastructure. That proximity reduces connection lead times, logistics costs and the project's footprint.
Patent application filed (INPI, January 2026), international extension under way.
Milestones
Roadmap
GAÏA follows a staged technology maturation path, each step conditional on the results of the previous one.
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Patent application filed
Completed
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TRL3 test bench design and construction
In progress
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Experimental campaign and characterisation
Planned
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Go or no-go decision
Planned
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TRL4 prototype and industrial preparation
Planned
The team
Company
Founder
Pierre La Vista, Founder and Managing Director.
An entrepreneur for over twenty years, Pierre La Vista has founded, industrialised and turned around several companies, including a services organisation that grew from 40 to 170 employees since he took it over in 2014. At GAÏA he leads process design, techno-economic modelling and intellectual property strategy. He is auditing the Advanced Master's programme in Deeptech Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Mines Paris - PSL.
Legal structure
GAÏA is a French simplified joint-stock company headquartered in Avignon. It is held by the ARTEMIS SERVICES holding company.
Ecosystem
Development is carried out with industrial partners and public research laboratories.
Get in touch
Contact
For questions about the project, industrial or academic partnerships, or access to future carbon removal credits.
contact gaia-cdr.com