UniSieve raises $9M to replace heat-based molecular separation
What's the deal? UniSieve, a Zurich deep tech startup, has raised $9 million in Series A funding to scale production of membranes that separate molecules without the heat required in conventional plants. The Orano Venture FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, managed by Supernova InvestDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, led the round, with new and existing backers including Amadeus APEX Technology FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, FounderfulDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Zürcher KantonalbankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Guenat HoldingDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. Total funding now stands at $25 million.
What's the endgame? Founded in 2018 by ETH ZurichDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → classmates Samuel Hess, now chief executive officer, and Elia Schneider, UniSieve uses metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and zeolites as molecular sieves to build membranes for industrial gas separation. The hard part, the company says, has been turning these materials into durable membranes that can be made reliably at industrial scale.
Why now? Molecular separation is central to making fuels, fertilisers, and plastics, but it is energy-hungry — the company cites a 2016 Nature analysis putting it at 10% to 15% of global energy use. MOFs also won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2025, seven years after UniSieve began work on manufacturing them.
What's it used for? UniSieve says its hybrid membranes are near commercial readiness in two areas: producing olefins for plastics and point-source carbon capture. Its most prominent public customer is Polish chemicals firm QemeticaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, formerly CIECHDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which has begun live testing of a UniSieve CO2 capture unit; the captured CO2 is used on site to make carbonates such as soda.
"UniSieve's high-precision membranes make it possible to replace energy-intensive thermal technology with compact and simple solutions," Hess said, adding that clients can recover more product and control emissions "while spending less."
What could go wrong? The field is crowded. Canada's Svante sells solid-sorbent capture using MOF-type materials, and European early-stage rivals such as ARK Capture SolutionsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which raised €2.2 million, target the same problem. UniSieve's cost pitch rests on membranes needing no heating or cooling cycle.
The signal: At $9 million, the round lands in the upper tier for its stage, signalling investor conviction that materials-science breakthroughs can cut industrial energy use. "Sam and Elia have demonstrated a remarkable ability to turn a highly complex technological breakthrough into a solution addressing a major industrial challenge, showing strong capital discipline along the way," said Jonathan Grosskopf, investment director at Supernova Invest.
Read more: Tech Funding News
Image credit: UniSieve
