Kvasir Technologies, a Copenhagen-based biofuel startup, has raised €10 million in a Series A investment round to accelerate the scale-up and commercialisation of its climate-neutral marine fuel. European Energy participated in this round as a new investor, alongside existing investors EIFO, Mærsk Growth and Footprint Fund. At the same time,
Rahul Raj
Kvasir Technologies, a Copenhagen-based biofuel startup, has raised €10 million in a Series A investment round to accelerate the scale-up and commercialisation of its climate-neutral marine fuel.
European Energy participated in this round as a new investor, alongside existing investors EIFO, Mærsk Growth and Footprint Fund. At the same time, the Danish startup has entered into a strategic partnership with European Energy by establishing the company KVEEN Biofuels, which is working towards the construction of a commercial-scale plant to produce biofuels using Kvasir Technologies’ patented technology.
“This investment round enables us to take the next crucial steps in developing and scaling our technology. At the same time, it underlines that there is still strong support for solutions that can deliver real climate impact in the maritime sector,” said Joachim Bachmann Nielsen, CEO of Kvasir Technologies.
Kvasir Technologies, a spin-out from DTU – Technical University of Denmark, was founded in 2018 by COO Anders Bak Kristoffersen and CEO Joachim Bachmann Nielsen. Nielsen, who has a PhD in Chemical Engineering, developed the company’s core technology.
Kvasir Technologies is a Danish CleanTech company specialising in climate-neutral biofuel production. It has developed a new technology to convert a wide range of non-edible lignin-based residues from agriculture and forestry into refined biofuels for shipping.
The company claims that the climate-neutral biofuel can serve as an immediate replacement for fossil marine fuel without the need to modify ship engines or change existing infrastructure.
Its single-step biofuel conversion process is called solvothermal liquefaction. The startup states that it is the only process that can fully convert lignocellulosic biomass, which is the earth’s most abundantly available biomass waste material, to produce next-generation marine biofuel.
“Our process is among the most efficient in liquefying solid biomass. More than 80% of the combustible energy originally contained in the biomass is retained in the biooil. This, coupled with a feedstock agnostic input, makes our process scalable enough to cover global marine fuel demand four times over. Our technology has the possibility for more than 100% CO2 reduction, due to carbon sequestration in biochar,” the company explained.
It further points out that its biofuel is miscible with fossil fuel oil and can therefore be blended with the existing marine fuel. This allows for full flexibility in terms of handling both existing fossil fuels and green biofuel interchangeably in a seamless transition towards complete decarbonisation.
“What will be decisive for Kvasir’s technology is that, through innovation and scaling, we achieve attractive price points for customers and thereby secure long-term offtake agreements before construction begins. We have some experience with that process and look forward to the collaboration,” said Knud Erik Andersen, CEO of European Energy.
The company plans to use this capital to scale the technology at its test facility in Fredericia, which can produce up to 2 tonnes of biofuel per day. At the same time, development work will begin on the first commercial plant in the city of Aabenraa in the southern part of Jutland.
“With European Energy, we gain a partner with proven experience in developing and financing energy infrastructure at scale. This reduces the risk of our first commercial plant and accelerates our route to market,” said Ulrik Falkenberg Lending, CCO of Kvasir Technologies.
