Sirona wins €9.1M EU grant for first air-capture project backed by Innovation Fund
What's the deal? Belgian startup Sirona TechnologiesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → will receive up to €9.1 million from the European UnionDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → to build a facility in Norway that captures carbon dioxide directly from the air and stores it permanently. The grant comes from the EU Innovation FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which supports technologies that cut emissions and advance climate neutrality. Project Furu is the first air-capture initiative the fund has backed.
Why it stands out: The grant ranks in the top 5% of all hardware grant rounds in Belgium by size, placing Sirona among the best-funded players in its niche.
What's the endgame? Project Furu uses Direct Air Capture and Storage (DACCS), which removes CO₂ already in the atmosphere rather than preventing new emissions. Sirona builds its units inside standard shipping containers in Brussels, then ships them to Norway — a modular design that lets it scale without redesigning the installation. The first units should start capturing CO₂ in 2027, with a long-term target of more than 100,000 tonnes a year, equal to the emissions of about 22,000 cars.
How it works: The facility runs on hydropower and separates CO₂ from the air, then purifies and liquefies it. The gas is set to travel via CCB Energy's planned CarbonLink terminal to Northern LightsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a network that stores CO₂ beneath the North Sea. Sirona chose Norway for its hydropower and proximity to that storage infrastructure.
Why now? A UN report says global warming will inevitably exceed 1.5°C as emissions keep rising, strengthening the case for removing carbon already in the air. "Europe will not reach net zero without permanently removing carbon from the atmosphere, and it needs that industry built here," said Thoralf Gutierrez, chief executive officer and co-founder of Sirona Technologies.
The signal: A market may be forming behind the technology. The European CommissionDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has proposed procuring 250 million tonnes of CO₂ removal between 2031 and 2040 through DACCS and BioCCS — a plan that still needs approval from the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. If passed, it could create steady demand for companies that pull carbon from the air, with Project Furu an early step toward a European removal industry.
Read more: ioplus.nl
Image credit: Sirona Technologies
