With a €43M EU grant and €1.2M from VC, this startup plans to turn carbon emissions into gold – TechCrunch

Excess CO is a global problem₂ It is continuous in the atmosphere, and it should be given a big place, considering the amount that is released by industry. If carbon dioxide emissions can be changed, it is hoped that we can quickly deal with the climate crisis and create a sustainable carbon economy.

There are a few companies trying to deal with this. Zurich-based Climewerk is handling the CO.₂ technology to remove carbon dioxide from the air, and has raised $784 million so far. US-based Lanzatech is doing the same by turning carbon into a feedstock. It raised $310.4 million.

Now, Copenhagen-based biotech company Second Circle thinks it has a new approach.

He claims to be able to capture CO₂ Using “artificial biology” to develop biocatalysts (bacteria) on the site released from industrial emissions. These then convert carbon dioxide into chemical compounds for industry. If it can be scaled up, this can even turn outsourcing into a revenue opportunity.

The company has now closed a €1.2 million pre-seed round led by Berlin-based early-stage investor Atlantic Labs. But he has a lot more to play with. As part of a consortium that received cash from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, it has a €43 million grant to boost the process. Dubbed “PyroCO2,” the project aims to demonstrate the transformation of industrial carbon emissions into value-added chemicals and materials.

Founders of the Second Circle. Image Credits: Second circle

“We strongly believe that we can only solve the global CO problem,” said Torbejrn Olsch Jensen, founder and CEO of Second Circle, in a statement.₂ Difficulty building new ways to create sustainable value from inevitable emissions.

Artificial biology technology has started to be widely applied in various areas. A second circle emerged from the Biosustainability Center of the Technical University of Denmark, Biosustain NNF. In the year Founded in 2020 and based in Copenhagen, the company is led by the founding team of Alex Toftgaard Nielsen, Stefanie Riddle and Torbjörn Ølshøj Jensen.

“By capturing carbon at source and turning it into high-value products, SecondCircle has an ultimately profitable use case for reducing customer emissions while simultaneously turning the unit economics of carbon capture on its head. Supporting this team was a no-brainer for us,” added Atlantic Labs Principal Max Kufner.