Cleantech startup Dioxycle announced that it has raised $17 million, with proceeds from the Series A funding round aimed at advancing its technology to transform CO2 emissions into high-value sustainable chemicals.

Founded in 2021, French-American Dioxycle is developing a technology that uses a low-temperature electrolyzer to produce sustainable ethylene from recycled carbon emissions, water, and renewable electricity.

Ethylene is the world’s most widely consumed organic chemical and is integral to industries like textiles, plastics, construction, and furniture. The conventional conversion process uses fossil fuels and is responsible for substantial carbon emissions.  According to Dioxcycle, its approach delivers the most cost-efficient ethylene and commodity chemical production process, which the company estimates could cut annual CO2 emissions by 800 million—over 2% of the world’s total—by shifting from fossil fuels in ethylene production.

Sarah Lamaison, co-founder and CEO of Dioxycle, said:

“To reach our climate goals, we must disrupt the processes of incumbents instead of re-building the industry from the ground up. Leveraging existing industrial assets will allow us to scale sustainable technologies at the required speed.”

Dioxycle said that it will use the new funding to support its first on-site demonstrators, an industrial prototype, and eventual preliminary commercialization within five years.

David Wakerley, co-founder and CTO of Dioxycle, said:

“Given how much our society runs on carbon, CO2 emissions could be considered an incredible resource, but only with a highly efficient CO2-conversion technology to take advantage of them. Now, we are ready to build an electrolyzer with the carbon-converting capabilities of about 20,000 trees, focused on the production of sustainable ethylene.”

The funding round was co-led by climate tech investors Lowercarbon Capital and Breakthrough Energy Ventures Europe,  and included participation from Gigascale Capital.

Clea Kolster, PhD, Partner and Head of Science at Lowercarbon Capital, said:

“Global ethylene supply chains face two critical problems: dependence on volatile fossil fuels and highly centralized production. Dioxycle is solving both of those problems at the same time. With a modular process powered by just water, electricity and waste CO2, Dioxycle is uniquely positioned to undercut legacy ethylene production, decentralize supply chains, and capture a $200B market.”