RepAir Carbon just opened a European headquarters in Luxembourg, and the timing is deliberate.
The Israeli direct air capture startup is expanding into Europe at exactly the moment EU carbon policy is accelerating: the Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) is taking shape, the ReFuelEU Aviation mandate is creating demand for sustainable aviation fuel, and Luxembourg itself has just launched a national CCUS & CDR Taskforce.
What RepAir Actually Does
RepAir’s technology is electrochemical — specifically, a battery-inspired electrochemical cell where electrodes separated by a membrane react with CO₂ in incoming air or flue gas, capturing and concentrating it in a single step.
The system can capture CO₂ at concentrations below 5%. That’s significant: it means RepAir can handle both atmospheric air capture (around 420 ppm, or 0.042%) and industrial flue gas (higher concentrations). Versatility matters when you’re trying to build a pipeline of commercial projects.
A Transatlantic Track Record
RepAir isn’t starting from zero in Europe — it’s arriving with credentials.
The company is the technology provider for the U.S. DOE-backed Pelican Gulf Coast Carbon Removal DAC hub in Louisiana — a major project with Shell, Mitsubishi, Louisiana State University, and the University of Houston. Active projects also run in Texas and Greece.
In 2024, RepAir partnered with Dutch carbon storage startup C-Questra to develop what could become the EU’s first onshore direct air capture and storage project at Grandpuits, France — the former Total refinery site being converted into a green hub.
The Luxembourg office is the operational base to push that European pipeline forward.
The Luxembourg Play
The choice of Luxembourg is strategic, not arbitrary. The country punches above its weight in finance and policy:
- Luxembourg is home to major climate investment funds and development finance institutions
- The new office will anchor RepAir’s participation in Luxembourg’s CCUS & CDR Taskforce, a national initiative by the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Environment, Climate, and Biodiversity
- The office is led by Jean-Philippe Hiegel, who spent seven years on carbon capture and storage infrastructure at Northern Lights in Norway — the world’s first commercial cross-border CO₂ storage operation
Having someone with Northern Lights experience running European operations is a signal. Northern Lights is the template for how commercial CO₂ transport and storage works in Europe. RepAir is positioning for exactly that infrastructure.
The $15M Series A Extension
The Luxembourg expansion follows a $15 million Series A extension co-led by Taranis Carbon Ventures and Extantia Capital, with participation from Ormat Technologies and Repsol, plus a $3 million non-dilutive grant from the Israeli Innovation Authority.
Repsol’s involvement is notable. The Spanish energy major is a customer and partner in the Grandpuits project — so this isn’t purely financial investment, it’s strategic alignment.
Diversity in the DAC Ecosystem
The dominant narrative around DAC has been US-centric — Heirloom, Graphyte, Sustaera, Capture6, and the DOE’s flagship hubs. European DAC has lagged, partly because the funding infrastructure (DOE-equivalent programs, large-scale government procurement) doesn’t exist in the same form.
RepAir’s expansion is a data point suggesting that’s changing. The company brings US deployment experience into the EU policy environment — a useful bridge between two very different climate policy landscapes right now.
More entrants in the DAC ecosystem means more designs tested, more data points on cost curves, and more competition to drive prices down. All of that is good for CDR as a whole.
The Grandpuits project will be one to watch.
Source: Carbon Herald