Carbonfix provides funding for Hydryx’ innovative landfill management system

Leveraging skills at landfills: say hi to Hydryx!

Carbonfix is proud to introduce our latest investment: Hydryx. This Dutch startup, founded by Anthonie Jacobson and Joren Tangelder, is going to revolutionize landfill management to tackle one of the world’s most potent greenhouse gases: methane.

Methane from landfills accounts for 1.6 gigatons of CO₂ equivalents annually— that is more than the entire aviation and shipping industries combined.

Hydryx' innovative solution addresses the inefficiencies of current landfill gas extraction systems– which currently allow more than half (!) of the methane produced in a landfill to escape into the atmosphere.

An innovative technology with an oldschool subscription

Hydryx uses a combination of hardware and AI powered algorithms to extract more methane from the landfill and deliver it to a power generator, boosting green energy production on site.

Their affordable subscription-based model makes it hassle-free for landfill operators to transform their waste into revenue-generating assets.

Size & use of our funds

Hydryx’s ambitious target is to remove 10 million tons of CO₂ equivalents by 2030. They aim to rapidly scale their impact across Europe and establish a foothold in high-emission regions across Asia in 2030.

Sounds far fetched? We don’t think so. They are on a Dutch test site already to demonstrate proof-of-concept, gearing up for deployment on other sites.

Using Carbonfix’s funding, Hydryx will expand its development team and demonstrate its impact on more Dutch landfills, building important proof points before international expansion.

A quick Q&A with the founders

Hey Guys! What a magical name your company has. Why Hydryx?

Anthonie: "Hydryx is a combination of Hydrogen and Phoenix– you know, the mythological bird rising from the ashes. The name reflects the idea of using what comes out of landfills. It refers to a key part of our philosophy: using emissions as a renewable resource.

Our initial idea was to work with hydrogen, but like many startups, we pivoted to a new idea. We wanted to keep the name because it reminds us to think beyond our current service offerings. We want to keep innovating to achieve our mission: bring global landfill emissions to zero."

What can you do that a landfill owner can’t do themselves?

Joren: "The difficulty with current gas extraction systems is that they are very dependent on manual operations. What we see in our current day-to-day operations is that conditions can completely change overnight, resulting in strongly fluctuating gas yields. Having real-time insight in gas composition allows an immediate, fact based response to optimize gas yield. Operators simply cannot keep up with these changes using manual operations."

"This means our system is able to systematically extract more methane from a landfill. And more gas extracted leads to emission reduced. But it also leads to a direct and significant monetary benefit for the landfill operator. A clear win-win!"

With the enormity of the challenge in front of us, how do you define success for Hydryx? And has that definition influenced your choice for not filing for a patent?

Anthonie: "Indeed, the challenge is enormous and urgent, and Hydryx is only tackling 6% of it by focusing on methane at landfills, rapidly developing the best, high-impact solution we can. Given the urgency of climate change, it would be fantastic if we can inspire people to also see these opportunities to build other impactful businesses. Closing the door to others using patents or lawsuits makes no sense to us."

"We really encourage people to look beyond the obvious, "sexy" topics and find a part of the climate problem that desperately needs their attention to get solved. Just look at the waste industry: 70% of the world's waste is dumped or landfilled. The world urgently needs new solutions that reduce waste or find new destinations for it."

‍

The Carbonfix approach

Anything from avoiding emissions to regulating temperature

At Carbonfix, we see Hydryx as a prime example of smart methane reduction and renewable energy innovation. Their approach exemplifies the transformative potential of smart hardware integration, delivered in a seamless way to operators who have the aimbition to decrease emissions but regularly not the headspace. We are super excited to witness their future success and global impact.

The past months, we've also announced investments in Blue Skies Minerals, Pronoe, ACT, Underground Forest and SeaO2. Before, we announced investments in DAC enablers (Skyrenu / Stathmos), Enhanced Rock Weathering (Sahara Blue Carbon, Vesta), Direct Ocean Capturing (Sea02) and Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement. A wide range indeed, all the way up to temperature regulation with Arctic Reflections. 

We aim to support all types of moonshots that avoid, capture or remove greenhouse gases. We invite everyone to come support these outliers. Because we believe we do not have the luxury to not try and fortify all sorts of early stage climate solutions together. Having a wide variety of inspiring, hope giving entrepreneurs around us is terrific. So come rally with us.