https://arab.news/w42uq
RIYADH: Aramco Ventures, the investment arm of Saudi Aramco, has joined a funding round for German startup Ucaneo, which is developing the country’s largest direct air capture facility.
The backing follows Ucaneo’s €6.75 million ($7.3 million) seed round in September 2024, the company said in a statement. It did not disclose the value of its investment.
Headquartered in Berlin, Ucaneo is focused on advancing direct air capture technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere efficiently and at scale.
DAC is gaining traction as industries and governments seek scalable solutions to reduce emissions and meet global climate targets.
“Direct Air Capture, if achievable at a competitive cost, could play a crucial role in global decarbonization. Ucaneo’s approach, leveraging novel solvents and renewable energy-driven electrochemistry, has the potential to deliver a cost-effective and highly efficient solution,” said Bruce Niven, executive managing director at Aramco Ventures.
He added: “We are excited to partner with Ucaneo’s innovative team to advance this technology toward large-scale adoption.”
The facility, set to open in the first half of 2026, is expected to bring down DAC costs below €300 per tonne of CO2, positioning it among the most cost-competitive solutions globally, Ucaneo said.
The company has also launched an industrial pilot capturing 30-50 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, making it one of Germany’s largest DAC test sites.
“We are thrilled to welcome Aramco Ventures as one of our investors. For us, it was essential to find a partner who not only supports our scaling efforts but is also deeply committed to playing a leading role in the energy transition,” said Florian Tiller, co-founder and CEO of Ucaneo.
“Only through impactful scale and strong partnerships can innovative technology developers like Ucaneo enable the world to build a real net-zero economy,” he added.
Aramco Ventures’ backing of Ucaneo comes just days after it led a $30 million Series A round for US-based climate tech startup Spiritus, alongside Khosla Ventures, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, and TDK Ventures. Spiritus aims to scale its DAC technology to curb emissions from data centers and industrial construction without stalling growth.
The investment underscores Aramco’s increasing focus on carbon capture and emissions reduction technologies as part of its broader strategy to support the energy transition.