Dr Shiladitya Ghosh
In the classroom, Shiladitya was shocked to discover the causes behind and impact of ice caps melting, sea levels rising and temperatures increasing. Recognising his privileged position, he decided to use his education to make a difference. How he’d do this wasn’t always clear, but when he started hearing about carbon capture as an Imperial student, everything started to fall into place. Today, his business, Mission Zero, is at the forefront of shaping a brand-new climate tech industry.
Growing up in Singapore, he became aware that rising sea levels could one day present a significant threat to the island nation. He explains: “In school, I remember learning about the environmental problems happening around the world. The teachers spoke about all these terrible things – heat waves and droughts, the sea levels rising, and the ice caps melting. I just thought to myself: ‘ We have to do something about this!’”
If we’re not suffering from the impact of climate change first-hand, we are in the best place to help by doing something about it. Throughout my education, I was determined to equip myself as much as possible so I could try and make a positive impact.
Studying in the UK
Shiladitya’s decision to pursue engineering was a straightforward one. He admits: “It turned out I was less terrible in maths and science than other subjects.” His school had organised talks from universities from different parts of the world, including Imperial and several others from the UK. He recalls hearing about the wealth of extra-curricular options available at Imperial and its world-leading academic reputation for technical subjects. Shiladitya also knew one of his favourite teachers had studied at Imperial which made the possibility even more appealing.
As Shiladitya started to explore studying in the UK, he also discovered it was a hub for many of his favourite things – football, cricket and classical music. He says: “The UK also offered a very different climate. I struggled with the weather in Singapore, but I wanted to study somewhere that had a similar metropolitan hustle and bustle environment.”
Motivations to become an engineer
Shiladitya shares: “I knew studying engineering would set me up to do things that have an impact in the real world. The discipline is about tangibly bringing ideas to life. That really motivated me compared to studying something fundamental or theoretical."
Shiladitya originally wanted to work in the energy sector, so he decided to study MEng Chemical Engineering at Imperial. Nuclear energy was an area that piqued his interest, but he quickly learnt this would be challenging due to security restrictions for non-UK nationals. However, he soon discovered another exciting area for climate impact that would alter his future trajectory completely.
During his time as an undergraduate, Shiladitya started to hear fascinating conversations about CO₂ capture. Imperial has the country’s largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) research programme. Shiladitya decided to complete his PhD studies at Imperial in this area. At this point, it was never his plan to start his own business. Then as his studies ended, the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The start of Mission Zero
As if a PhD isn’t demanding enough, Shiladitya signed up for an online MBA at the same time. He explains: “I started this out of an interest to equip myself with more than just technical skills. I knew whatever I learnt in an MBA would be useful for entering the professional world, so it was a really exciting opportunity.”
Facing uncertainty about what was next because of the pandemic, he stumbled on an opportunity for addressing climate change through entrepreneurship. He already had friends from his undergraduate class who had become entrepreneurs, so he knew he could ask them for support along the way. Shiladitya came across a venture builder, Deep Science Ventures, who coach PhD graduates wanting to follow this path. This is where he met his co-founders (remotely) and brought Mission Zero to life.
The aim of Mission Zero is simple – to create solutions that directly remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. As one of the most potent greenhouse gases, it is responsible for making the planet warmer. In his own words: “We know from global experts like the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that we have produced too much carbon dioxide through human activity. That is overwhelmingly what is causing the effects of climate change we see today.”
Controlling climate change
While the move to renewable energy will help solve the problems of tomorrow, Shiladitya recognises that we need to do something about the emissions we have already produced. He says: “Our past emissions are the reason that people and ecosystems are suffering today, with natural disasters such as droughts and floods occurring much more frequently. We need to engineer solutions that complement the natural carbon cycle as quickly and cheaply as possible.”
We don’t have a lot of time left to keep climate change under control. We only have until 2050 to hit certain targets, so we need to already be deploying solutions today. We don’t have time to wait for perfect versions of solutions to be ready, so at Mission Zero we are using tools and approaches that already exist today.
Shiladitya and his co-founders are working towards a future where we won’t need to extract more CO₂ from the air purely to reduce the impact of climate change, but instead to drive sustainable growth. He explains: “What won’t change is humanity’s reliance on manufacturing for goods and services, as well as fuel for flying. There is an opportunity to make their production more sustainable by decoupling their reliance on fossil fuels and harnessing CO₂ from the air instead as a carbon building block.”
Find your purpose
Shiladitya has some very important advice for students: “You may feel pressure to set your career priorities a certain way – perhaps that’s to go into certain high-paying sectors so that your loved ones live a more comfortable life. I reassure you that you don’t have to compromise that objective to pursue a meaningful career and make an impact on society, whether that’s in climate change or another area like healthcare or education.”
If you are fortunate enough to study at somewhere like Imperial, you must remember that you got that spot out of thousands of people around the world who tried to get there. Whether you accept it or not, there is some expectation on you to do something that will benefit the wider community or the planet. Keep this in the back of your mind when making decisions. There are so many once-in-a-lifetime opportunities unlocked for you.
Mission Zero Technologies team photo
Mission Zero Technologies team photo
Shiladitya hosting foreign dignitaries at UK's first DAC plant
Shiladitya hosting foreign dignitaries at UK's first DAC plant
Facing tough decisions
There have been tough decisions for Shiladitya and his team during Mission Zero’s journey. He explains: “Understanding that sometimes the right answer is to say no to an opportunity is vital. Around seven months in, a major industrial company approached us. This seems like a godsent opportunity, right? But we realised we would have no control over what would happen next if we said yes."
He continues: “As you grow as a business, the support network and partners you have at a certain point may not be the right ones for the rest of your journey. This is true as founders too – I realised at one point that I could not add the required value from an engineering perspective. However, I was still passionate about driving the company’s future, so I assessed my competencies and moved to head up operations for our next chapter.”
For the foreseeable future, Shiladitya expects to continue as an entrepreneur, but he remains aware of alternative ways to make an impact. He shares: “Maybe one day I’ll go and fight from a different stage, such as policy, as many technologists have done in the past.”
Time at Imperial
While at Imperial, Shiladitya made the most of opportunities outside the classroom. He explains: “Being at university is the last opportunity we have as a young adult to try all these things in one place. I tried ballroom dancing for a bit but that didn’t go too well. Instead, I discovered my love for badminton which is a great way to stay fit and socialise. I wrote for Felix, the student newspaper, which was eye-opening as I covered diverse topics. I also worked with Engineers Without Borders to take part in meaningful projects that weren’t part of my studies.”
I think joining student societies is invaluable. Eventually taking up leadership positions in them is a great opportunity too. You learn a lot of soft skills – decision-making, communication, stakeholder management. They’re not necessarily things you develop or put to the test as part of your degree.
A willingness to consider opportunities is something Shiladitya believes is incredibly important. It’s something he says he has consciously tried to do throughout his journey so far. He says: “Being open to opportunities is what led me to explore entrepreneurship, and it helped me make lifelong friends from Imperial too.”
As a PhD student, learning more technical skills was vital for Shiladitya. It allowed him to hone transferable capabilities that would help him outside his discipline. “We looked at how to assess the business potential of technical ideas and innovations which is key for any start-up, but also if you want to change something from within a company as an intrapreneur.”
Mentoring and more
Although his student days are behind him, Shiladitya still gives back to the Imperial community. Just a couple of examples are his support for the Imperial Award and Activate Mentoring Programme. The Imperial Award programme began in 2015, and Shiladitya has been around since its piloting and inception. After he completed the award as a student, he transitioned his support to mentoring, student consultancy, and being an assessor. He has supported more than 70 students over five years.
Shiladitya spoke at the International Students Welcome for October 2023 to over 1,400 new students from around the globe to share his experiences. He has also been a virtual student recruitment ambassador, answering questions online from prospective students for over two years.
I want to motivate and inspire those who are coming after me to consider what's available to them and be the best that they really can be. I've never really looked up to those ahead of me or those who have succeeded already. But my motivation often comes from those who are earlier in their journeys than me, yet are already shining brighter than me.
Shiladitya signed the Imperial Entrepreneurs’ Pledge in July 2023, publicly recording that he intends to contribute philanthropically to the College upon an exit or liquidity event from his business.
More eyes on Mission Zero
Shiladitya was aware of the Alumni Awards, but never thought he’d be a recipient. He admits: “When I heard the news, I did have a little bit of imposter syndrome. I’m still very early in the journey with Mission Zero, and we still have a long way to go.”
I want to use this as extra motivation that now, through the recognition of this award, more people are going to be watching what Mission Zero does. It feels surreal to be recognised by a university that has thousands of new graduates each year. It’s also very humbling as I hope whatever I and the other winners do will go down in history because of the valuable contributions we will have made.
Follow Shiladitya's story:
Travelling to Iceland with Chemical Engineering coursemates
Travelling to Iceland with Chemical Engineering coursemates
Dr Shiladitya Ghosh at his PhD graduation ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall
Dr Shiladitya Ghosh at his PhD graduation ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall
Imperial's Alumni Awards recognise the outstanding achievements of our alumni community and the variety of ways they are making a real impact across the globe.
The Emerging Alumni Leader Award celebrates our rising stars, innovators, game-changers and future leaders.
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