Amsterdam-based climate tech startup Skytree secures €2.5M from EIC Accelerator

Amsterdam-based Skytree, a climate tech company that aims to advance innovative CO2 capture and re-utilisation solutions, has been awarded €2.5M in non-dilutive grant funding from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator.

Additionally, EIC’s Accelerator has committed to joining Skytree in the upcoming Series A funding round planned for Spring 2024.

The current grant adds to the €13M total funds raised by Skytree in 2023.

Skytree selected by the EIC Accelerator

The EIC Accelerator, a part of the Horizon Europe programme aimed at enhancing Europe’s scientific and innovative competitiveness, has selected Skytree as one of the top 47 companies out of 648 submissions and one of four in the Netherlands.

Note: You can check out the entire list here.

Skytree received assistance from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) during the submission process.

The EIC Accelerator supports startup and scale-up companies like Skytree in advancing technologies and introducing innovations to the market. The programme offers startups and SMEs grants of up to €2.5M combined with equity investments through the EIC Fund ranging from €0.5M to €15M.

In addition, EIC-selected companies also receive coaching, mentoring, access to investors and corporates, and other opportunities.

Capital utilisation

Rob van Straten, CEO of Skytree says, “The EIC funding award recognises the great potential of Skytree’s DAC technology.”

“As we prepare to ship the first Skytree DAC units to customers in Europe and North America early next year, we are honoured to have been recognised by the EIC and are grateful to team IRIS from RVO for their support during the process.”

“We look forward to leveraging the additional capital to accelerate our product development and commercialisation roadmap,” adds Van Straten.

What does Skytree offer?

Founded in 2014 by Max Beaumont, Skytree uses a proprietary direct air capture (DAC) technology to harvest CO2 from the surrounding air, facilitating the shift away from industrial processes reliant on fossil fuels.

The technology, developed over a decade of practical research and initially designed for astronauts on the International Space Station, utilises DAC to collect CO2. 

The filtered CO2 is stored in pressurised buffer tanks and can be utilised by different companies, providing a sustainable approach to addressing climate change.

Skytree launched its first commercially available modular unit, Skytree Cumulus, catering to controlled environment agriculture (CEA) businesses. The company claims its facilities can boost agricultural yields by 20-30 per cent compared to conventional farming methods. This improvement is achieved through year-round crop production using CEA technologies and a circular CO2 supply system.

Recent development

In June 2023, Skytree secured $6M (then, approximately €5.55M) in a seed round led by Horticoop, a cooperative fund investing in businesses that contribute to the horticultural industry, and Yield Lab Europe, an agtech impact VC fund.

Skytree mentioned that the money will be used for capturing 10 Mt of CO2 by 2030, and boost the rate at which their DAC technology is used.