D-CRBN Raises €17.5 Million to Scale Plasma Technology Converting Industrial CO₂ into Circular Carbon Molecules

Belgian DeepTech startup D-CRBN has closed a €17.5 million Series A investment round led by Astaia, with participation from follow-on investors SFPIM and the European Innovation Council Fund, to scale its electrified plasma technology that recycles carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons into carbon monoxide and syngas for sustainable fuels, chemicals and materials. The Antwerp-based company, founded in 2021, is also opening a limited secondary closing of up to €5 million for strategic industrial partners who will play an active role in accelerating industrial deployment of the technology. The financing follows a €2.5 million EIC Accelerator grant received in 2023 and brings total external capital raised by D-CRBN to over €20 million as it transitions from pilot validation toward industrial scale-up.

 

The Technology and Its Industrial Applications

 

D-CRBN uses renewable electricity to convert carbon dioxide-rich off-gases and hydrocarbons into carbon monoxide and syngas, the key building blocks for sustainable fuels, chemicals and materials, without producing byproducts such as carbon black. The plasma process electrifies chemical conversion steps that are currently performed using fossil fuels, allowing industrial off-gases that would otherwise be emitted or flared to be captured and transformed into valuable feedstocks. The company claims the technology has already been validated at industrial pilot scale with leading partners in the steel and chemicals sectors, with multiple demonstration projects advancing toward commercial deployment.

David Ziegler, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of D-CRBN, said the Series A marks a significant milestone and positions the company well to transition from pilot validation toward industrial scale-up with the backing of Astaia, SFPIM and the EIC Fund. The technology addresses a structural challenge in European heavy industry, where dependence on imported fossil feedstocks for chemical production creates both emissions and supply security vulnerabilities. By converting captured carbon dioxide into usable industrial inputs using renewable electricity, D-CRBN offers a pathway to simultaneously reduce emissions and strengthen domestic feedstock supply chains.

 

Read more: AI Could Unlock $600 Billion in Annual Climate and Sustainability Value by 2028 Across 40 Subsectors

 

Strategic Significance for European Industrial Decarbonisation

 

Andreas Blome, Director at Astaia, said D-CRBN directly addresses Europe's dependence on fossil resources while helping secure the future supply of critical materials for fuels, chemicals and manufacturing. He described the electrified plasma technology as exemplifying the type of scalable, real-economy solution Astaia seeks to support as a long-term partner. Hermann Hauser, Member of the EIC Fund Board, said Europe's competitiveness will depend on how effectively breakthrough innovation is turned into scalable industrial solutions, and described D-CRBN as a strong example of how deep tech can decarbonise heavy industry while creating new value from emissions that would otherwise be wasted.

The positioning of D-CRBN as a key enabler of Europe's circular carbon economy reflects a broader strategic direction in European industrial policy, where the circularity of carbon molecules is being integrated into the same decarbonisation agenda as renewable energy and electrification. The steel and chemicals sectors, where D-CRBN has validated its technology, are among the hardest to decarbonise in Europe and face the most acute pressures under the EU Emissions Trading System and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. Technologies that can convert unavoidable process emissions into commercially valuable products address both the carbon accounting and competitiveness dimensions of industrial transition simultaneously.

 

Explore OneStop ESG Marketplace: Carbon capture

 

Outlook for Circular Carbon Technology at Scale

 

D-CRBN plans to use the Series A proceeds to scale its first industrial demonstration units, expand its engineering and operations teams and accelerate the commercial rollout of its carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide and syngas platform. The inclusion of strategic industrial partners in the secondary closing, under the same terms as the primary round, creates a governance structure that aligns commercial deployment incentives with the company's technology development. Collaborations across the steel, chemicals, energy and infrastructure sectors provide a diverse customer base for commercial scale-up rather than dependence on a single industrial application.

Whether D-CRBN can deliver industrial-scale deployment within the timeline implied by its commercial ambitions will depend on the performance of demonstration units, the pace of engineering team expansion and the contractual depth of its industrial partnerships. Sustained execution would establish the company as a leading provider of circular carbon technology in Europe and demonstrate the commercial viability of electrified plasma conversion for industrial decarbonisation. The convergence of regulatory pressure under the EU ETS, supply chain security concerns and growing demand for sustainable chemical feedstocks creates structurally favourable conditions for technologies that address all three challenges simultaneously.