Climate Tech Startup Paebbl Raises $25 Million to Turn Captured CO2 into Building Materials
Decarbonization technology company Paebbl announced that it has raised $25 million in a Series A funding raise, with proceeds to be used to scale up its technology turning captured CO2 to carbon-storing construction materials.
Founded in 2021, Rotterdam-based Paebbl has developed a system to speed up the natural process of CO2 mineralization – where minerals inside rocks react with atmospheric CO2 to create carbonates – by some 10 million times. The system captures CO2 and stores it permanently inside the building materials, offering a carbon-negative alternative to today’s heavily emitting cementitious materials, according to Paebbl. Each kilogram of its carbon-storing material is made up of between 15-30% CO2, it added.
Paebbl has increased its production of materials from a few kilograms per day in May 2023, to as much as a ton per day by May, 2024, at its pilot plant in Rotterdam, according to the company. It plans to commission a demo plant during the first half of 2025, a prelude to a fully commercial production facility.
Andreas Saari, co-CEO and co-founder of Paebbl, said:
“We’re incredibly proud of the progress our team has made in such a short time, but for us this still feels like day zero. This funding enables us to execute even faster with our customers and leap ahead towards our objective to make the built environment a cornerstone of the decarbonized economy. With the new funding, we are actively expanding our existing hubs in Helsinki, Rotterdam, and Stockholm, while also opening a new hub in the UK in the near future. These expansions reflect our commitment to going where the deepest talent hubs are as we grow our team.”
The round was led by Capnamic, a Germany-based early-stage investment house. Other investors included Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund and global building materials leader, Holcim through its Holcim MAQER Ventures, along with Aurum Impact and the Family office of Antti Herlin and existing investors existing investors 2050, Pale blue dot and The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment.
Capnamic Partner Christian Knott said:
“I have been following the decarbonization efforts of this industry for a while now and am very impressed by the speed that the team at Paebbl displays in getting to first commercial traction. The combination of diligent engineering and best practices from the software industry, like rapid prototyping, can pave the way for unprecedented speed in this industry.”