Ucaneo, a company specialising in direct air capture (DAC) technologies for CO2 removal, has successfully secured €6.75 million ($7.5 million) in seed funding, including grants. The round was led by prominent hardware and industrial energy investors, including Smart Energy Innovationsfonds (SEIF) by Energie 360° and IBB Ventures, with additional support from new investors like the Plug and Play Sustainability Fund. Existing backers, including Grantham Environmental Trust, Carbon Removal Partners, Nucleus Capital, Apprecia Capital, and notable angel investors such as Flixfounders and Pjotr van Schothorst, also contributed.
This fresh capital will enable Ucaneo to construct one of Germany’s largest DAC testing and development facilities and to launch its first industrial product. The company aims to remove 0.5 gigatonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere by 2035, which is approximately equivalent to the combined weight of the entire human population, or around 1% of global annual CO2 emissions.
Florian Tiller, Ucaneo Co-founder and CEO said, “This is a pivotal moment for our company. The growing recognition of the critical need for CO2 removal technologies, coupled with increasing regulatory support, positions Ucaneo at the forefront of this transformative sector. This funding round testifies our progress and potential, enabling us to quickly build one of the most cost-efficient, scalable and mass-producible Direct Air Capture systems, delivering a sustainable solution for CO2 removal or utilisation processes at any location and scale.”
Ucaneo’s electrochemical technology is inspired by the way the human lung processes CO2. By using electricity and a biomimetic solvent, the technology captures atmospheric CO2 and continuously regenerates it at room temperature, transforming it into pure gas for industrial applications. The energy-efficient system is compatible with renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, enabling flexible, on-demand CO2 removal and energy price arbitrage.
“To scale carbon removal, we need accelerated hardware development! Ucaneo’s technology is designed for rapid iterations, our own so called interchangeable modular product architecture. To reach cost-effectiveness already at a smaller scale, we are leveraging proven components, established supply chains and a modular design suitable for global deployment.” said Carla Glassl, Ucaneo Co-founder and CTO.
