Berlin-based cleantech startup C1 Green Chemicals announced that it has raised €20 million (USD$21.7 million), with proceeds from the financing aimed at commercializing its green methanol technology and help move emissions-intensive sectors away from fossil feedstocks.

Founded in 2022, C1 develops new, climate-friendly chemical processes, exclusively on the basis of renewable raw materials and energy, designed with the help of quantum chemical simulations, and implemented in proprietary production technologies. The company has developed a new proprietary process for the production of high-purity green methanol, using decentralized, non-fossil feedstock, low pressures, and low temperatures, enabling mass production at a competitive cost, and providing a solution to replace fossil resources in the shipping, aviation and chemical industries.

The company said that it will use the new capital to build a demonstration plant for its methanol production solution, with construction scheduled to begin this year.

Christian Vollmann, CEO of C1 Green Chemicals AG, said:

“Two ingredients are crucial for the successful commercialization of scientific innovation: talent and capital. We are delighted that we at C1 have excellent access to both ingredients.”

Of the total capital raised, €15 million came from investors led by denkapparat, the family office of the founders of German software firm Think-Cell, Markus Hannebauer and Arno Schödl. Planet A Ventures, Maersk Growth, SquareOne, former Linde CEO Wolfgang Reitzle and Siemens Chairman Jim Hagemann Snabe also took part in the funding round, and another €5 million came from approved research grants.

Hannebauer said:

“At C1, everything comes together perfectly: Cutting-edge research targeting an ecologically and commercially significant problem, pragmatic founders with a clear vision, and a team boasting impressive technological and commercial expertise. This is exactly the profile we are looking for as entrepreneurial investors. It was immediately clear that we would take the lead in this round.”