If there is one major by-product of industrialisation, it is carbon dioxide, which currently causes problematic levels of CO2 in air and water. For the past 18 months, Dutch-Scandinavian startup Paebbl has been working on a solution that radically accelerates the mineralisation of carbon dioxide. A recent €8 million investment will allow the company to build towards its ultimate goal of converting millions of tonnes of CO2 into reusable rock powder every year, Paebbl said in a press release.
- Paebbl, a Dutch-Scandinavian startup, accelerates the mineralisation of CO2, turning millions of tonnes of CO2 into building materials in just one hour.
- CO2 is captured and mineralised into carbon-negative materials, such as paper and concrete.
- An investment of €8 million will enable Paebbl to conduct further research
Carbon negative
Carbon dioxide capture and permanent storage is taking place on an increasing scale, but little of it is being reused. Paebbl engages in what is known as Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS). Captured carbon is combined with minerals by Paebbl with minimal energy consumption, resulting in a raw material suitable for making, for example, paper and concrete. This accelerated mineralisation guarantees the permanent sequestration of CO2, while simultaneously creating a carbon-negative material. Among other things, the new investment will be used at the research facility in Rotterdam to work on a recipe for carbon-negative cement.
Investment in the future
Dutch scientist Pol Knops, one of Paebbl’s founders: “We convert CO2 from gas to solid carbonates. The earth has benefited for billions of years from a natural process to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, we mimic that but quite a bit faster. Our mineralisation is accelerating the natural geological process by a factor of more than a million. So we can really make a difference. Globally, four billion tonnes of cement are used every year, accounting for about 8% of total CO2 emissions. If we can replace part of that with Paebbl’s cement mineral filler, a ground-breaking double carbon benefit will be achieved. An investment in the future of us all.”
About Paebbl
Paebbl was founded in 2021 with the aim of capturing, permanently storing and reusing carbon dioxide – better known as Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS). The people behind this international startup are Dutch scientist Pol Knops, Swedish investor-entrepreneurs Jane Walerud and Marta Sjogren and Finnish entrepreneur Andreas Saari. Paebbl uses a controlled closed-loop chemical process that accelerates natural CO2 mineralisation. What the earth itself takes centuries to do, Paebbl can do in an hour. What remains is rock powder that not only permanently retains CO2, but can also be used as a building material or for other industrial applications. And all this is possible on the scale our planet needs now: millions of tonnes per year.
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