This is CDR: The CDR Startup Journey
Welcome to the fourth webinar in the OpenAir Collective's 2026 Carbon Removal Challenge monthly webinar series! We're proud to present a panel with founders from two CDR startups, Greg Rau of Planetary Technologies (ocean alkalinity enhancement, Canada) and Silvia Pugliese of Norma (direct air capture, France). Hear about their journeys from academia, to founding, to prototyping, to demo plant (Planetary), to selling carbon removals to Milkywire (Norma) and Frontier (Planetary).
Greg Rau is Co-Founder and Senior Scientist at Planetary Technologies. He is also a senior researcher with the Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, and is affiliated with the Carbon Management Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. His research is focused on carbon cycling and biogeochemistry at cellular to global scales, including the development and evaluation CO2 mitigation technologies. He holds a PhD in biogeochemistry.
Silvia Pugliese is the Co-Founder and CTO of Norma. She created the company following a successful collaboration with the startup studio Marble, and initially served as CEO before focusing on leading its technical development. Prior to Norma, she co-founded a methane-capture startup based on a technology she co-invented. She holds a PhD in Chemistry, specializing in CO₂ electroreduction, and is dedicated to translating scientific research into practical climate solutions. Silvia also enjoys communicating science in an accessible and engaging way.
For more information about the Carbon Removal Challenge and how you can participate as a student, organizer, judge, mentor, partner, donor, or sponsor, visit https://openaircollective.com/CRC.