Shell, Trafigura, AET and Saudi Aramco invest in Daphne Technology

Daphne Technology, a Swiss climate tech startup addressing the greenhouse gas (GHG) challenge, has attracted investments from industry majors in the second investment round.

Investors include Shell Ventures – a corporate strategic investor for Anglo-Dutch energy major Shell, Swiss commodity trader Trafigura, Singapore-based shipping company AET, and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV) – a corporate venturing subsidiary of petroleum and natural gas giant Saudi Aramco. All of them are committed to limiting global warming.

As informed, Shell Ventures led the CHF 10 million ($10.97 million) capital raise along with Trafigura. AET, and all previous investors co-invested, including Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures and the Innovation Fund.

The capital raise earmarks the second round of funding since Daphne Technology spun off from the Swiss Federal Technical Institute (EPFL) in 2018.

“We are proud to have attracted best-in-class strategic investors all committed to working together, with Daphne, for an economically sustainable energy transition,” Mario Michan, Founder and CEO of Daphne Technology, said.

“The capital raise enables us to deploy our systems and expand our portfolio of emission reduction solutions. The transition to a more sustainable economy represents a historic investment opportunity.”

“We are very pleased to support Daphne in their mission to create a more sustainable energy future,” Peter van Giessel, Investment Director, Shell Ventures, commented.

“Daphne’s technology addresses a significant challenge in the hard-to-abate marine space when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Their plug-and-play solution has enormous potential to also help other sectors, and we look forward to supporting them in their journey.”

“Daphne Technology’s innovative approach has the potential to become a pivotal technology for the maritime industry. The ability to capture emissions from hydrocarbon maritime fuels and meaningfully reduce emissions in the short-term is a critical component of the industry’s transition to net zero emissions, in which multiple fuels and multiple abatement solutions will be required,” Margaux Moore, Head of Energy Transition Research at Trafigura, pointed out.

“This investment fits well with our strategy to invest in and develop technologies and business models that will be required for the transition to net zero.”

“This investment marks our entry into R&D for GHG abatement technologies aligned with our ongoing decarbonisation initiative and is made alongside other leading like-minded energy players and strategic partners,” Rajalingam Subramaniam, AET President & CEO, said.

“As a believer in LNG as a longer-term solution in maritime decarbonisation, we have been looking for technologies to reduce the methane slip and improve the “tank to wake” decarbonisation environment. Therefore, aside from being an investor, we will also deploy and test the technology across our vessels which utilise LNG as a fuel source.”

The technology

Specifically, Daphne leverages technology to remove toxic and GHG emissions such as nitrogen oxides, methane and carbon dioxide from the combustion gas of any fuel type, including oil, LNG, biofuels, ammonia, and hydrogen.

The plug-and-play solution breaks down the pollutants, converting them into non-hazardous by-products, which are either released into the environment or transformed into valuable products.

As a result, Daphne contributes to a circular economy and a significant reduction in GHG emissions.

The transition to sustainable energy sources is fundamentally reshaping the global economy. Daphne Technology intends to help the transition to net-zero in the maritime and hard-to-decarbonise sectors:

• A dramatic reduction of GHG emissions is a must to meet the Paris Agreement goals and International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations.
• The vision of Daphne Technology is to convert toxic and GHG pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, methane and carbon dioxide into upcycled and useful products, both at sea and on land.
• The company is currently pursuing commercial deployment and scaleup and is positioning its solutions in landmark projects.

Because Daphne’s technology can be applied to multiple fuel types, it has the potential to make a substantial impact across the energy system.