The direct air capture industry has a problem it rarely talks about openly: most of the technology being deployed is expensive, energy-intensive, and difficult to scale. Cory Sanderson, founder and CEO of Durham-based Sustaera, has spent years at the intersection of carbon dioxide engineering and commercial viability, and he believes the industry has been solving the problem the hard way. In a recent episode of the Founder Shares podcast hosted by Hutchison attorney Trevor Schmidt, Sanderson laid out how Sustaera’s novel approach to DAC technology works, why the market for carbon removal is growing faster than most people realize, and what it actually takes to build a climate tech company in the Research Triangle.

How Sustaera’s Direct Air Capture Technology Is Different

Most direct air capture companies rely on thermal regeneration to release captured CO2, a process that operates at roughly 30 to 40 percent heat efficiency. Sustaera uses a resistive electrical heating method built directly into its conductive structured sorbent, achieving around 90 percent efficiency. That single design decision makes the system three to four times more energy-efficient than competing approaches, which in turn drives down the unit cost of carbon removal to a level that makes commercial deployment realistic. The system functions much like an HVAC filter, drawing ambient air across the sorbent to capture CO2, then running electrical current through the chamber walls to release a pure CO2 product stream. The full cycle runs in under 30 minutes and repeats continuously. Sanderson brought a tabletop demonstration unit to the podcast to illustrate the point: unlike competitors whose systems require separate adsorption and desorption stages, Sustaera’s is a single integrated unit. It is simple enough to carry to a conference. That simplicity, he argues, is not just a talking point. It is the foundation of a modular, scalable deployment model that does not require mega-factory infrastructure to reach economic viability.

Building a Climate Tech Company Requires a Different Kind of Investor

Sustaera operates in a market that is still largely voluntary, which shapes everything about how Sanderson raises capital. Traditional venture capital funds operate on five to seven year return timelines, and clean tech hardware companies rarely fit that window cleanly. Sustaera’s fundraising strategy targets angels, family offices, and philanthropic investors who understand longer development horizons and are motivated by more than near-term returns. That does not mean the business case is soft. Sanderson pointed to the European Union’s recent introduction of mandatory DAC and BECCS removals into its emissions trading scheme beginning in 2031, and to Frontier’s announcement of nearly a billion dollars in advanced market commitments from buyers including Anthropic. The carbon removal credit market has been growing by roughly one million tons per year over the past three years. Sanderson’s near-term goal is to demonstrate the technology externally with a validated on-site unit capable of removing 10 tons of CO2 per year, a milestone he describes as the unlock that transforms investor conversations entirely.

Why the Research Triangle Ecosystem Matters for Deep Tech Founders

Hutchison attorney Josh Hayes, who has worked with Sustaera since its 2021 spinout from a government contracting company, offered a candid assessment of the funding reality facing North Carolina’s climate tech founders. The Research Triangle can compete scientifically with Boston and Silicon Valley, but it receives a fraction of the venture dollars those markets attract. What offsets that gap, Hayes argued, is the quality of the ecosystem’s relationships. People who cannot write a check are genuinely willing to make introductions to people who can. Sanderson echoed the point from his own experience, crediting openness and intellectual honesty as the traits that have opened the most doors. His advice to other founders navigating similar terrain: do not perform certainty you do not have. Investors and advisors are more willing to engage, give honest feedback, and champion your work when you show up as someone still figuring it out rather than someone pretending you already have. That posture, combined with consistent networking and a steady flow of warm introductions, has been the primary engine of Sustaera’s early fundraising progress.

Passion and Honest Self-Assessment Are the Foundations of a Fundable Climate Company

Both Sanderson and Hayes closed the conversation with advice that applies well beyond clean tech. Sanderson, who chose his first job out of college specifically because it felt safe and only found his way to entrepreneurship gradually, is direct about what sustains founders through the grind: genuine passion for the problem and the market, not the idea of being a founder. His core piece of advice is to spend real time asking whether the problem, the market, and the specific technical approach are things you actually love, because if they are not, the daily reality of building a company will wear you down quickly. Hayes built on that by pointing to the legal and structural fundamentals that too many founders defer: validating the science, securing the customer base, ensuring intellectual property is owned by the company rather than individual founders, and getting corporate documentation right before those details become expensive problems. The best climate technology in the world solves nothing if the business behind it is not structured to last. For Sanderson, the near-term definition of success is third-party validation of Sustaera’s technology in the field. The longer-term vision is simpler: be the leading supplier of direct air capture equipment and licensing to anyone in the world who needs to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.