Amsterdam-based climate tech startup Brineworks has closed a €6.8 million seed round to accelerate commercialisation of its Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology, which produces ultra-low-cost carbon dioxide and hydrogen, two key inputs for sustainable e-fuels.
The round was led by SeaX Ventures, with participation from Pale Blue Dot, First Momentum, AiiM Partners, Energie360°, and Katapult. Brineworks also secured a €1.8 million grant from the European Innovation Council Accelerator, taking its total funding raised to €8.8 million. The company declined to disclose its valuation to TFN.
Founders’ vision and technical edge
Founded just two years ago by CEO Gudfinnur Sveinsson and CTO Dr Joseph Perryman, Brineworks was launched to address a glaring market gap: the high cost of atmospheric carbon removal.
“We started Brineworks because we saw that the cost of capturing CO2 from the atmosphere needed to drop significantly to make both carbon removal and e-fuel production viable, two critical pieces in addressing climate change. We saw a unique opportunity in advancing saltwater electrolysis technology, which we believe holds the key to making DAC significantly more affordable and scalable.”
The startup also highlights its commitment to diversity: “Five of our 16 team members are women, and we’re committed to continuing to build a strong and diverse team that’ll drive a great positive impact for our climate,” the founders told TFN.
Tackling aviation and shipping’s carbon problem
Brineworks claims an edge over incumbents like Climeworks and Carbon Engineering, as well as newer electrochemical DAC players including Phlair, Greenlyte, and Mission Zero.
Their patented electrolyser avoids the use of costly precious metals, requires fewer membranes, and can operate flexibly on intermittent renewable power without degrading performance, thereby reducing capital expenses.
Founders explain to TFN: “Brineworks uses Direct Air Capture to deliver clean CO₂ and co-produce H2 with a breakthrough low-cost electrolyser, solving the feedstock gap for affordable e-Fuels in hard-to-electrify sectors like shipping and aviation.
Current e-Fuel production is constrained by limited access to clean CO₂, as point-source CO₂ increasingly fails to meet evolving EU and international climate regulations (source), and biogenic CO₂ is limited in supply (source). By delivering clean CO₂ and co-producing H2 at low cost, we help corporates build resilient decarbonization strategies that scale with demand and policy ambition.”
What’s next?
With fresh capital in hand, Brineworks plans to scale its electrolyser from prototype to pilot, targeting commercial readiness by 2026.
“This funding round enables us to build our electrolyser at full scale and demonstrate its ability to power a DAC system with industry-leading cost efficiency, laying the groundwork for rapid deployment and expansion in the years ahead. We believe DAC is a vital part of the broader climate solution and will play a key role in the future of carbon removal,” the founders concluded.
Dr Kid Parchariyanon, Founder and Managing Partner at SeaX Ventures, added, “At SeaX, we’re always looking for visionary founders solving massive problems with science-backed solutions, and Brineworks is exactly that. Their team is rethinking how we tackle carbon removal and clean fuel from the ground up, with an approach that’s as ambitious as it is necessary.”
