Biogas CO2-focused cleantech startup CryoCollect announced today that it has raised €4 million (USD$4.3 million), including investments from Engie New Ventures, the corporate venture fund of power company Engie, and GTT Strategic Ventures.

Founded in 2017, Paris-based CryoCollect develops technologies for gas treatment, purification & liquefaction, for gases such as biomethane, carbon dioxide or hydrogen. The company has focused on the capture, purification & liquefaction of carbon dioxide contained in the off gas derived from anaerobic digestion (biogas). This technology enables the production of liquid biogenic CO2 which can displace fossil CO2 in industrial processes that require CO2 as an input such as the Food & Beverage industry, or to produce synthetic fuels.

Haytham Sayah, CEO and Co-founder said:

“ENGIE and GTT are natural partners for us and we are delighted to welcome them on board. Besides being strongly committed to accelerating the energy transition, ENGIE embraces a large array of activities (in biogas production, bioLNG, energy efficiency in the industry, etc.) that have a great fit with our portfolio of technologies.”

Biogas is produced from organic waste, such as agricultural, industrial, and household wastes, in anaerobic digesters at waste facilities or landfill sites, and then further processed to produce biomethane/bio-LNG. Biomethane is chemically identical to fossil-based natural gas, but has substantially lower lifetime greenhouse gas emissions, enabling it to support the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors such as road transport and heavy industry, without needing to replace existing transmission and distribution infrastructure.

According to Johann Boukhors, Managing Director of Engie New Ventures, the announcement marks the latest in a series of biogas-focused investments for the fund. Boukhors said:

“We’re delighted to add CryoCollect to our portfolio of investments, being the 3rd one around biomethane (after WASE announced a few weeks ago, and TREATECH in June 2023) and the first one on the value chain of carbon management. Recycling CO2 natural resources is due to play a key role in the energy transition.”

Camille Bonenfant-Jeanneney, Managing Director of Engie Renewable Gases Europe added:

“CryoCollect’s CO2 capture technology is particularly energy efficient and enables zero emission from our anaerobic digesters. This is the new standard of the biogas industry and an opportunity for ENGIE to further support the decarbonization of the industry by valorizing a biogenic CO2 which displaces fossil CO2.”