Support for Hydryx to reduce methane emissions from landfills

By Laio

Amsterdam startup Hydryx has received a €350,000 convertible loan from Innovatiefonds Noord-Holland. Hydryx is developing a landfill gas management system to reduce methane emissions from landfills. Hydryx was founded in 2023 by Anthonie Jacobson and Joren Tangelder.

Landfills worldwide contribute significantly to the climate crisis. Some 30% of global warming is caused by methane, and landfills cause 20%. This is because waste ferments create methane (a potent greenhouse gas). Hydryx is developing a system that captures and utilizes these methane emissions to generate green electricity.

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Landfills in Europe are equipped with a gas extraction system that sucks methane from the landfill so that it can be converted to green electricity in a generator. However, the efficiency of this system is low, partly because there is insufficient visibility on the fluctuations of methane and, thus, when it can be extracted. Its management is currently still done manually, making it less efficient. Hydryx automates this process and, therefore, dramatically increases the extraction efficiency. By extracting more methane from the landfill, less leaks out into the atmosphere, and significantly more green power can be generated.

Innovation Fund funding will be used to implement demonstration projects at three landfills. This Proof-Of-Concept will be used to acquire new customers and start internationalizing. In addition, the product will be improved, including more robust sensors and improved algorithms.

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Anthonie Jacobson, Co-Founder of Hydryx, sees landfills as an under-reported part of the climate problem. “Our mission is to reduce these emissions as soon as possible, and it is great that the Innovation Fund North Holland is accelerating the approach to this problem with this funding.” Ludolf Stavenga, fund manager of Innovatiefonds Noord-Holland, concurs: “Hydryx offers a smart combination of hardware and software for a relevant problem in the market. With the funding from INH, Hydryx can show that this solution works on a larger scale.