Airhive has acquired Carbyon, combining two European direct air capture technology developers to create a larger Anglo-Dutch company focused on reducing the cost of removing carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The combined company will operate under the Airhive name and integrate the teams, technologies, and research capabilities of both businesses. Airhive will maintain operations across the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, with early-stage research and development centered at the High Tech Campus Eindhoven.
The acquisition brings together two complementary approaches to solid-sorbent direct air capture, commonly known as DAC. These systems use reactive materials to capture carbon dioxide from ambient air inside controlled industrial equipment.
Airhive’s technology is based on fluidized beds, a process adapted from sectors such as food manufacturing and pharmaceuticals. The design moves particles through a gas stream to improve contact between the air and the material used to capture carbon dioxide.
Carbyon has developed a proprietary sorbent material with rapid capture kinetics. Its technology is designed to absorb and release carbon dioxide quickly, potentially increasing the amount of CO2 each system can process while reducing equipment and energy requirements.
By combining Airhive’s engineering and project development capabilities with Carbyon’s materials science and research expertise, the companies aim to accelerate the development of lower-cost DAC systems that can operate at commercial scale.
Airhive will use the Eindhoven research center to develop Cascade, its next-generation DAC technology. The company expects Cascade to incorporate expertise and intellectual property from both teams as it seeks additional reductions in the cost of capturing carbon dioxide.
Direct air capture removes carbon dioxide that is already circulating in the atmosphere. The captured gas can either be stored permanently underground or used in industrial applications, including the production of food-grade carbon dioxide, synthetic fuels and other materials.
Unlike carbon capture systems installed at power plants or industrial facilities, DAC can operate independently of a specific emissions source. However, the technology remains expensive and energy-intensive compared with many other climate solutions.
The primary challenge for the industry is reducing the cost per tonne of carbon dioxide removed while developing systems capable of operating reliably at increasingly large scales.
Airhive and Carbyon said consolidation can help address that challenge by combining research, engineering, project execution and commercial resources. The transaction follows significant technical progress by both companies over the past year.
Airhive demonstrated its Storm-1 system in Alberta, Canada. The unit was designed to capture approximately 1,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually and achieved a capture cost below $500 per tonne, excluding transportation and storage and after accounting for lifecycle emissions.
The demonstration represented an important milestone for Airhive as it seeks to prove that modular solid-sorbent DAC systems can operate at lower costs outside a laboratory environment.
Airhive also opened a pilot facility in Teesside in northeastern England, where the company has conducted pilot-scale research and technology development.
Teesside is expected to remain an important operating center for the combined business because of the region’s emerging carbon capture, transportation and storage infrastructure.
Airhive is also a co-developer of UnionDAC, a consortium formed with Mission Zero Technologies and Progressive Energy.
The consortium plans to develop a direct air capture project at Teesside with a combined capacity of approximately 60,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually by 2032.
Airhive’s systems are expected to provide all of the project’s solid-sorbent DAC capacity. If completed as planned, the facility would be larger than any direct air capture plant currently operating.
Carbyon has also reached several technical milestones.
The Eindhoven-based company introduced Carbyon GO, its first-generation technology demonstration system. Carbyon has also improved the operating life and energy efficiency of its proprietary sorbent.
Sorbent durability is an important factor in direct air capture economics because the capture material must repeatedly absorb and release carbon dioxide. If the material degrades quickly, operators must replace it more frequently, increasing expenses and waste.
Energy consumption is another major cost driver. DAC systems require energy to move air through the equipment and regenerate the sorbent so the captured carbon dioxide can be collected.
Improving both material life and energy efficiency could lower the cost of each tonne captured and make the technology more competitive for commercial projects.
Carbyon has also developed technical and economic models for using direct air capture in the agricultural sector. These models incorporate materials science, equipment design and levelized capture costs to evaluate how DAC could support agricultural applications.
The enlarged Airhive plans to pursue projects involving both carbon utilization and permanent carbon storage.
Carbon utilization projects sell captured carbon dioxide for industrial use, potentially providing revenue that does not depend solely on the sale of carbon removal credits.
Airhive is working with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, which is also an investor in the company, to install a direct air capture system at a large European bottling plant.
The commercial-scale pilot will produce low-carbon, food-grade carbon dioxide for carbonated beverages. If successful, the project could be extended to additional bottling facilities.
Beverage manufacturers require reliable supplies of high-purity carbon dioxide. Conventional sources can be exposed to production disruptions and price volatility because food-grade CO2 is often obtained as a byproduct of other industrial processes.
Producing carbon dioxide directly on-site could provide manufacturers with a more localized and potentially lower-carbon supply.
The project also demonstrates how DAC companies are exploring business models beyond voluntary carbon markets. Selling carbon credits has provided early funding for the industry, but companies are increasingly evaluating industrial uses that generate direct commercial revenue.
Airhive said it is exploring additional carbon utilization opportunities as the sector develops a broader range of customer and project models.
For permanent carbon removal, captured CO2 must be transported and stored in geological formations where it can remain isolated from the atmosphere.
The availability of carbon transport and storage infrastructure is therefore essential for large-scale DAC deployment.
The United Kingdom is developing carbon capture and storage infrastructure near Teesside and in the eastern Irish Sea. These networks are expected to collect carbon dioxide from industrial facilities and removal projects before transporting it to offshore storage sites.
Airhive’s Teesside operations could benefit from proximity to this infrastructure, reducing some of the logistical challenges associated with moving captured CO2.
The acquisition comes as policymakers in the European Union and United Kingdom increase their support for engineered carbon removal.
Direct air capture was among the first three carbon removal methodologies certified under the European Union’s Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming framework.
The certification framework is intended to establish consistent standards for measuring, verifying and reporting carbon removals across Europe.
Certification could make it easier for buyers to evaluate the quality of DAC projects and may support the development of larger voluntary and regulated markets.
The European Commission has also established an EU Buyers’ Club designed to encourage public and private investment in direct air capture and other carbon dioxide removal projects based within the European Union.
In the United Kingdom, the government has indicated that DAC-based carbon credits could be integrated into the UK Emissions Trading Scheme during 2028 or 2029.
This integration could create a significant new source of demand by allowing regulated companies to use verified removals within the country’s carbon market framework.
The UK has also introduced support for carbon capture and storage infrastructure, which Airhive views as critical to the commercial development of its projects.
The combined company plans to pursue commercial and research partnerships across Europe and other regions, including Australia.
Carbyon was founded in 2019 by Hans De Neve as a spinout from Dutch applied research organization TNO.
The company won a $1 million Milestone Award through the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition and has been recognized for its rapid-cycling sorbent technology.
Airhive is headquartered in London and develops modular DAC systems designed around fluidized-bed processing, energy efficiency and lower production costs.
The company sells carbon removal credits connected with direct air carbon capture and storage projects, along with captured carbon dioxide for industrial applications.
Following the transaction, Carbyon founder Hans De Neve will support the transition and development of the combined company under Airhive founder and CEO Rory Brown.
The acquisition is intended to give Airhive the scientific capabilities, engineering experience and commercial scale required to advance from pilot systems toward larger operating projects.
By combining technologies and teams, Airhive aims to build a leading European direct air capture company capable of lowering costs and deploying systems across carbon utilization and permanent storage markets.
KEY QUOTES:
“The goal in DAC is achieving low costs at large operational scale. That requires three things: sustained technological innovation, expertise in executing projects and a wider enabling environment of policy incentives and infrastructure. Leveraging Carbyon’s impressive R&D capabilities will accelerate innovation and help us reach that goal quicker.”
Rory Brown, Founder and CEO of Airhive
“The world needs DAC to work, and this combination brings together exactly what’s been missing: Airhive’s execution power and de-risked technology, paired with Carbyon’s fundamental R&D depth and expertise. Under Rory’s leadership, the combined company will have what it takes to overcome the market’s toughest challenges and drive DAC forward. I’m proud of what we’ve built to get here, and I’m looking forward to what comes next.”
Hans De Neve, Founder of Carbyon
