Paebbl, a young company that converts CO₂ into building materials, has raised $25 million in a funding round led by Amazon’s Impact Fund. The Dutch-Scandinavian startup will use the investment to expand its offices in Helsinki, Stockholm, and Rotterdam and build a demonstration plant. With this technology, which extracts CO₂ from the air, ocean, or industrial processes, the company will help reduce global carbon emissions.
Expansion and ambitions
The $25 million capital injection is a significant milestone for Paebbl. With it, the company is taking steps not only to expand the organization but also to realize a demonstration plant. The planned facility, which is expected to be operational in the first half of 2025, is an important step toward scaling up production capacity to 3,000 kilograms of product—including some 1,000 kilograms of sequestered CO₂ per day.
European governments are watching this development with attention. Europe sees carbon capture as a crucial strategy for achieving net zero emissions targets. The United Kingdom recently announced it will invest £22 billion in carbon capture and storage projects over the next 25 years.
Technology and impact
Paebbl has developed a technology that captures CO₂ from the air and converts it into a mineral that can substitute for cement. This is an important innovation, as worldwide, cement is responsible for 6 to 8 percent of CO₂ emissions. The stone powder produced by Paebbl can permanently retain CO₂ and is used as a building material or for other industrial applications.
Paebbl’s technology is based on the principle of mineralization, a natural process that converts CO₂ into solid carbonates. The company claims to be able to accelerate this process more than a million times. This means they can process millions of tons of CO₂ on a large scale, contributing significantly to reducing the construction industry’s climate impact.
Investment round and founders
The funding round was led by Capnamic and included contributions from Holcim and Amazon’s The Climate Pledge Fund. Pol Knops, one of the founders, invented the technology that converts CO₂ into stone powder. This process normally takes centuries or even thousands of years, but Paebbl has managed to speed it up to less than sixty minutes.
Industrial applications and future
Paebbl’s pilot plant in Rotterdam already produces 250 kilograms of material containing CO₂ daily. The next step is a demonstration plant that can roll out up to 10 tons of product daily. This shows Paebbl’s ambition and confidence in their technology and the contribution they can make to reducing CO₂ emissions.
Concrete, an essential construction material, must meet strict quality requirements. Paebbl’s innovation could be revolutionary for the construction industry, which suffers from a high carbon footprint. The startup is working on a recipe for carbon-negative cement, which could lead to a breakthrough in sustainable building materials.
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