Founder in Residence, Enable CO2 transport and in-situ storage

ABOUT THE ROLE

Deep Science Ventures (DSV) is a science venture builder - we build new science start-ups and recruit impact-driven individuals with specific skill sets to become Founders.

THE CHALLENGE

The race to safely remove and store billions of tons (Gt) of CO2 by 2050 at <100 USD/ton, permanently, and without causing negative side effects, is in full swing. With over 100 direct air capture companies having entered the market over the last years the focus has been strongly on the capture side. Yet in order to reach the goal we simultaneously need to build a robust supply chain pre- and post-capture.

Looking at the post-capture supply chain for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methods, storage is set to cover around half of prospective captured emissions by 2030, with carbon capture projects targeting 2030 as a milestone to ramp up significant carbon capture volumes, in an attempt to reach international climate objectives of Gt scale removals.

This supply and demand mismatch occurs despite theoretically sufficient geological CO2 storage potential in Europe (estimated at around 507 Gt), equivalent to over 100 years’ worth of CO2 emissions in the EU at 2019 levels. However, CO2 storage sites can take between 5 and 15 years to develop, depending on the existing level of characterisation of the area, while CO2 capture projects tend to be faster to implement and have high ambitions to scale up quickly. Therefore, we need to act now and unlock geological storage space, set up the necessary infrastructure, and ensure the logistics between the individual actors.

OUR APPROACH

In the context of the supply chain, we will face challenges around CO2 compression costs and optimal co-location (renewable energy access, CDR location, storage location) as well as supply-demand matching (overall volume but also the fragmentation of both sides). Specific challenges around storage are the integrity of the cap rock, rate of CO2 injection, required pressure for the injection as well as policy and licensing processes. Thus, we are very keen for us to explore business opportunities around CO2 transportation infrastructure, material development, CO2 logistics as well as secure long-term CO2 storage.

ABOUT DSV

Deep Science Ventures is creating a future in which both humans and the planet can thrive.

We use our unique venture creation process to create, spin-out and invest into science companies, combining available scientific knowledge and founder-type scientists into high-impact ventures.

We operate in 4 sectors: Pharmaceuticals, Climate, Agriculture and Computation, tackling the challenges defining those areas by taking a first principles approach and partnering with leading institutions.

Requirements

• We are looking for a chemical engineer with experience in CO2 handling and deployment of CO2 transport infrastructure. Ideally, you should have a supply chain management background and experience in transporting gases (ideally CO2).
• Or a geologist/geochemist with expertise in the challenges surrounding geological CO2 storage with a good overview of the key players in the carbon market.
• You should have an entrepreneurial mindset and be urgently motivated to solve some of the world's most pressing environmental challenges.
• You have a broad knowledge base to draw upon and a passion for keeping up-to-date with the latest technologies.
• You are a creative thinker, enjoy thinking about the exceptions to the rule, and enjoy a good challenge.
• You have a strong desire to build a company and ideally have built projects and teams in the past. You are a good communicator and work well in a team.

Benefits

We are a team of operators who have founded companies and led translation of science at some of the most respected universities, charities, funds and government agencies. 2/3 of the team have founded or led a company at C-suite and 65% have a PhD. We are deeply involved in each company, providing:

Exploration: Deconstruct the ‘Post CO2 capture value chain’ opportunity area and identify possible approaches for venture spin-out.

We offer mentorship and guidance through weekly deep dive work sessions, access to our opportunity insights and knowledge base, access to a global network of experts, access to a community of other science Founders working on launching their own companies, and a curated collection of resources and proprietary tools.

Building: Build a team of co-founders and advisors around the most promising approach(es).

We offer Co-Founder(s) sourcing and assessment via our proprietary tools, advisory board sourcing, advice on technical and commercial investment milestones, co-development of technical roadmap and go to market strategy, investment readiness pre-launch with further focus on technical and commercial proof, customer development support.

Accelerating: Secure capital and focus on technical proof-of-concept development with the support from our industry partners.

We offer £250k pre-seed investment, access to our industry network, advice on follow-on fundraising strategy, including introductions to seed investors and potential customers from our global network, support with term sheet negotiation, supporting grant applications to leverage further non-dilutive funding and value uplift and access to a community of seasoned science founders in our portfolio.

Additionally, we provide a monthly stipend of £4,166 so that you’ll have guaranteed income before you’re able to secure the pre-seed investment. In other words, we pay you to start your own company. We also cover pre-investment expenses that are crucial for the development of the idea/project.