Who are we?
The climate crisis is one of the defining challenges of our time and we believe direct- air-capture can be part of the answer. But only if we make it affordable. That is what drives us.
We are Tommy and Anna-Lena, two physicists at the IAPP at TU Dresden, and with BeLeaf we want to turn our vision into reality. Our technology uses a conductive leaf skeleton to locally heat our specifically designed CO 2 sorbent, making the regeneration process significantly more energy-efficient and cost-effective. With this approach, we are aiming to reduce the cost per ton captured CO 2 by at least a factor of 5 compared to conventional methods. We have a proof of principle in hand and are now working to derisk the technology and move toward a proof of concept.
What do we offer?
We are currently preparing an EXIST-Forschungstransfer application, due by the end of November, and are looking to complete our founding team before submission. If successful, the grant will provide financial support for a team of four from May 2027 to October 2028. We are confident in our application and plan to found the company within 2027. As a potential Co-Founder, you will receive an equity stake alongside the other Co-Founders. Beyond the grant period, our ambition is to raise venture capital to scale our technology and establish BeLeaf as a serious player in the DAC market. You would be joining at the ground floor of that journey. Through our network at the IAPP at TU Dresden we bring strong institutional ties, access to research infrastructure, and connections within the climate tech community, all of which we see as a shared asset for the whole founding team.
Who are we looking for?
If you bring both technical depth and an interest in building a company, then BeLeaf might be the right place for you. If you are keen taking the lead on our engineering/scale-up activity or chemistry development, then you are probably the one we are looking for. Beyond that, if you are driven by the mission and bring expertise in business or carbon capture, there may well be a place for you at BeLeaf.
Open to generalists too
If you don’t fit neatly into the profile but bring deep expertise in DAC, MRV, or adjacent fields, a background in business, or any combination of the above, combined with a genuine interest in co-founding and passion for climate tech, we would still love to hear from you.
Submission deadline: 14.08.26
Contact: Anna-Lena Hofmann anna-lena.hofmann@tu-dresden.de