Kvasir raises €10 million to scale climate-neutral marine fuel

Kvasir Technologies on June 18 raised €10 million in a Series A round to scale its climate-neutral marine fuel. European Energy led the round, with continued backing from EIFO, Mærsk Growth and Footprint Fund.

The Danish company said the cash will accelerate commercialization of a fuel made from non-edible lignin-based residues. Kvasir describes the product as a solvothermal liquefaction output that turns lignocellulosic biomass into a 1:1 substitute for fossil marine fuel, with use in existing ship engines and current fuel infrastructure.

The financing also came with a strategic partnership. Kvasir and European Energy formed KVEEN Biofuels to develop a commercial-scale plant based on Kvasir’s patented technology, a step that moves the business beyond pilot production and into industrial deployment. Kvasir said its test facility in Fredericia can produce up to 2 tonnes of biofuel per day, while its first commercial plant is planned for Aabenraa in southern Jutland.

For shipping, the timing lines up with a fuel market still under pressure to cut emissions without rebuilding fleets. The International Energy Agency said international shipping accounted for about 2% of global energy-related CO2 emissions in 2022, and its Net Zero Emissions scenario calls for almost a 15% reduction in shipping emissions from 2022 to 2030. The agency also said about half of low-emission fuel use in shipping by 2030 could be biofuels, reflecting their advantage in existing vessels compared with ammonia and hydrogen routes that still need major new infrastructure.

Kvasir said its feedstock slate includes straw, corn stover and woody residues, giving it access to agricultural and forestry waste streams that do not compete directly with food use. The company says the resulting oil has properties similar to marine heavy fuel oil, which is the commercial test that matters for bunker buyers looking at long-term offtake, engine compatibility and supply-chain continuity.

The raise follows a series of earlier milestones. Kvasir said it was founded in 2018 as a spin-out from the Technical University of Denmark, and that CEO and co-founder Joachim Bachmann Nielsen developed the core technology during his Ph.D. work. The company has previously secured €2.5 million from the EU’s EIC Accelerator, received a Missionbooster grant from Innovation Fund Denmark for sustainable aviation fuel scale-up, and announced a €3 million investment from EIFO and Footprint Fund. It also said it partnered with Aabenraa Havn for its inaugural commercial site and signed an MOU with Alfa Laval on solutions for bio-fuel plants.

European Energy’s backing gives the project a stronger industrial signal than climate capital alone. The next test is whether Kvasir can move residue-based marine fuel from demonstration output to a commercial plant that can hit price points and customer offtake targets.