Aircela, a company that makes carbon neutral e-fuels from CO2 in the air, announced on 9 February that it has closed a funding round with investment firm Maersk Growth, the venture capital arm of Danish shipping company A.P Moller-Maersk. 

The investment will support Aircela’s plans for field testing and initial manufacturing of what the company refers to as refrigerator-sized machines that produce 6 kg a day of carbon-neutral methanol, using only air, water and renewable power as inputs. Many thousands of mass-produced Aircela systems will operate together as ‘server farms for green fuel’.

COO and Co-founder Mia Dahlgren said: “We have no time to wait in replacing fossil fuels, and if needed, we will do it engine by engine. We have been inspired by Maersk’s brave commitment to fuelling some of the biggest engines in the world with green methanol, and we are excited to welcome them to Aircela”. Her husband, CEO and Co-founder Eric Dahlgren said, “Maersk has taken several bold and significant steps towards decarbonization, and we are proud to be teaming up with such a serious player so early in our journey. We look forward to developing the market for green fuels together.”

Maersk’s Head of Energy Transition, Morten Bo Christiansen, who is joining Aircela’s board as an observer, said, “Cost-effective direct air capture technology can unlock almost unlimited scalability of carbon-based electro fuels such as methanol. Aircela’s technology holds that promise, and I look forward to working with and learning from the team.’