This not only highlights Ucaneo’s cutting-edge Direct Air Capture technology but also emphasizes its crucial role in helping industries transition to net zero. Ucaneo positions itself as a key enabler, helping both emerging and traditional industries to manage their CO₂ footprint by providing a robust and reliable solution to remove CO₂ from ambient air.

Ucaneo just launched its first industrial pilot at its premises, with a capacity of up to 30-50 tons of CO₂ per year—already making it one of the largest industrial DAC pilots in Germany. Aramco Ventures’ investment will accelerate Ucaneo to build Germany’s largest DAC demonstration plant, set to be commissioned in the first half of 2026. Beyond financial support, the investment also paves the way for potential joint deployments of future commercial plants.

Florian Tiller, Ucaneo co-founder and CEO, stated: “We are thrilled to welcome Aramco Ventures as one of our investors. For us, it was essential to find a partner who not only supports our scaling efforts but is also deeply committed to playing a leading role in the energy transition. Only through impactful scale and strong partnerships can innovative technology developers like Ucaneo enable the world to build a real net-zero economy.“

Bruce Niven, Executive Managing Director at Aramco Ventures, added: “Direct Air Capture, if achievable at a competitive cost, could play a crucial role in global decarbonization. Ucaneo’s approach, leveraging novel solvents and renewable energy-driven electrochemistry, has the potential to deliver a cost-effective and highly efficient solution. We are excited to partner with Ucaneo’s innovative team to advance this technology toward large-scale adoption.”

Innovative Technology Inspired by Nature
Ucaneo’s state-of-the-art electrochemical DAC technology mimics the lung’s natural ability to manage CO₂. Using electricity and a specialized biomimetic solvent, Ucaneo’s system removes atmospheric CO₂ at room temperature with continuous regeneration, delivering pure, industrial-grade CO₂ for various applications.

Designed for high energy efficiency, Ucaneo’s technology seamlessly integrates with variable renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, enabling cost-effective, on-demand CO₂ removal. This flexibility allows operators to leverage energy price arbitrage, making it particularly attractive for high-grid-electricity price regions and remote renewable-powered deployments.

A Pathway to Germany’s Largest Direct Air Capture Demonstration Plant
Ucaneo’s industrial pilot—one of Germany’s largest DAC projects—will provide critical operational data to validate its technology under real-world conditions. These insights will inform the development of Germany’s largest DAC demonstration plant, planned for launch in the first half of 2026.

Supported by a Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) and an independent third-party feasibility study, Ucaneo’s DAC technology has the potential to achieve costs below €300 per ton of CO₂ in the near future—making it one of the most cost-competitive DAC solutions globally. The demonstration plant will serve as a key milestone in proving this cost-effectiveness at scale.

With this project, Ucaneo is strengthening Berlin’s and Germany’s position as a global leader in innovative climate technology solutions—paving the way for a more scalable and affordable approach to carbon removal.

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What were the key criteria for selecting the startups included in this year’s Top 50 Contech Startups list?
The selection process is based on several criteria and is decided by the Investment &  Business Development team. One of the strongest sources to build this list is the Construction Startup Competition, completed with the contributions from our investment and collaboration pipeline. We select startups with unique and innovative solutions that are aligned with Cemex Ventures’ four focus areas—green construction, enhanced productivity, supply chain, and construction future—and their potential to disrupt traditional practices of the construction industry. Overall, we aim to find passionate and resilient entrepreneurs and businesses that are covering the needs and challenges of the current built environment.

What major trends in construction technology stood out among the companies on the list this year?
This year, we saw a surge in solutions addressing the reduction of carbon footprint through sustainable materials (recycled and upcycled materials) and more efficient and productive construction processes.. There was also a noticeable rise in AI-driven tools for project management, project tracking, predictive analytics & maintenance, and automation, as well as advancements in industrialized construction methods and robotics to address labour shortages and efficiency gaps. Beyond our Top 50 report, we saw that 37% of all the capital raised in construction tech ecosystem went to AI, and the largest deals registered in 2024 went to solutions using AI.

Are there any regions or markets that showed a notable increase in innovation or representation in this year’s list compared to previous years?
North America and Europe continue leading the investment activity in our industry with 85% of all Contech transactions. From a deal perspective, Asia-Pacific showed significant growth in representations, with innovative startups tackling challenges unique to densely populated urban areas. Europe also strengthened its presence with growth across all the focus areas, although sustainability and productivity took 66% of the transactions. It seems that sustainability-driven solutions continue reflecting the region’s regulatory pressure to adopt and implement greener construction practices.

How many selected startups focus on sustainability, and what specific solutions stood out in addressing environmental challenges?
We try to build a balanced list of startups across our verticals every year. However, we see solutions from other buckets with a slight sustainability component, such as making processes efficient and greener by consuming fewer resources. In the Green Construction group, key innovations included CCUS technologies, LCA tools, AI tools for optimizing material usage, recycled construction materials and waste management, startups developing alternative cementitious materials and water efficiency & conservation.

With AI becoming increasingly integral, how are the listed startups leveraging artificial intelligence and automation to transform the construction industry?
AI is being used across various phases of the construction value chain, from generative design to predictive maintenance and real-time project monitoring. Many startups on the list leverage AI to optimize workflows, improve safety through automated risk assessments, and reduce project delays by predicting supply chain bottlenecks. Likewise, automation is particularly prevalent in robotics for tasks like bricklaying, 3D printing, site inspections or rebar works. 

Which startups or categories on the list do you see as having the highest investment potential or the greatest impact in the near future?
Startups focused on the sustainability, decarbonization and supply chain efficiency fields stand out for their investment potential, given the pressing demand for tackling industry´s carbon footprint, resource optimization, regulatory pressure and meet carbon budgets and targets. Specifically, those developing low-carbon materials, energy-efficient technologies, and AI-driven supply chain platforms are likely to have the greatest near-term impact. Lastly, the race for full automated sites has started, startups succeeding in automation lowering actual costs and increasing production will also take investors’ attention.

Are any of the startups from the list currently collaborating with Cemex Ventures, and if so, can you share examples of these partnerships?
All the startups included in the list are (or has been) part of our pipeline. While all these companies can benefit from our knowledge, our extensive network, or programs like the Construction Startup Competition, we prioritize those solutions whose vision is aligned with Cemex´s strategic needs and those that can help our operations to be more sustainable and efficient making our corporation more reliable and competitive. For example, some of these startups have participated in our acceleration program LeapLab, others are already collaborating with our operations and others are working with our Global R&D team.

Based on the innovations showcased, what do you see as the most significant opportunities and challenges for Contech in the next 5-10 years?
The most promising opportunities lie in addressing our industry decarbonization challenges throughout the entire construction lifecycle. The optimization of processes to make construction sites leaner and agile performing tasks on time and on budget will continue with capital inflows in the next years. Advances in AI, robotics, and industrialized construction will help to achieve this level of optimization. However, challenges include the slow adoption rate of new technologies due to the fragmented nature of the industry, regulatory hurdles, materials scarcity or the need for substantial investment to scale these solutions globally.

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This initiative will foster a dialogue between industrial leaders in hydrogen and the world’s leading investors to accelerate the development of the clean hydrogen economy and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions reduction and climate change mitigation in line with the Paris Agreement. The Joint Forum will also work on unlocking the potential of the hydrogen economy in emerging and developing markets to boost green industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.

The OPSWF Network brings together 47 investors with over USD 37 trillion in assets under ownership and management. The Hydrogen Council, a global coalition of CEOs, brings together 150 industrial leaders representing some USD 8.2 trillion in market capitalisation, 6.8 million FTEs worldwide, and some USD 5.2 trillion in revenues. CEO leaders of the Hydrogen Council and the OPSWF Network form a strong partnership with a shared vision to drive just transition towards a more sustainable energy future.

This purpose-driven collaboration will focus on alignment on sustainability standards and certification solutions for clean hydrogen and derivatives, which are key to facilitate global, cross-border trade, as well as accelerate project execution and all forms of financing.

A key objective of the Joint Forum is to help unlock the development of this new industry in emerging and developing markets, supporting a just and equitable transition to net zero and green industrialisation.

The Joint Forum will set out an 18-month roadmap of action, focusing on three priorities:

1. Supporting mutual recognition of certification schemes for clean hydrogen and derivatives to foster international trade in hydrogen and derivatives, maximizing both climate and socio-economic benefits of clean hydrogen at a global scale. This is a key prerequisite to advance cross-border projects from proposals to final investment decisions.

2. Fostering uptake of common global industry standards which are technically feasible and scientifically robust. Global standards developed by Standard Development Organizations will play a key role in informing the environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting frameworks for investors in this new asset class.

3. Unlocking environmental and socio-economic benefits of the hydrogen economy in emerging and developing countries. The Joint Forum will seek to advance capacity building and knowledge sharing coupled with financing solutions to boost green industrialisation in emerging and developing markets.

Sanjiv Lamba, CEO of Linde plc and Co-Chair of the Hydrogen Council, said: “As we scale-up the clean hydrogen value chain, consistent standards and an aligned vision between industry leaders and global investors will be crucial for success. The Hydrogen Council working with the OPSWF Network is well positioned to provide the leadership necessary to accelerate the development of a clean hydrogen eco system, to support industrial decarbonization and facilitate cross-border trade in hydrogen and derivatives.”

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The AWS Clean Energy Accelerator 3.0 is focused on the requirements of mature entrepreneurs from across the world and is aimed to stimulate co-innovation through energy collaborations.

The program will consist of 12 weeks of virtual and in-person training beginning in Seattle in the second quarter of 2023. Its reach and breadth will be increased with the addition of two additional cohorts and international exchange sprints to create tech innovation centres throughout the world, including one in the UAE in collaboration with Masdar City.

Kara Hurst, Vice President of Worldwide Sustainability at Amazon, said: “The path to rapid decarbonization is not simple or straightforward, and we need to partner with and highlight companies advancing the development of clean energy technology. Startups are at the forefront of much of the innovation that can help accelerate the energy transition. With the support of the Clean Energy Accelerator, this year’s cohort will be able to move faster to tackle the toughest challenges and create a cleaner, healthier planet.”

Energy, digital competencies, investment, public policy, innovation, and cutting-edge research are just some of the themes that will be covered by industry and thought leaders as they guide companies through the program. While AWS will offer direction on how to speed up experimentation, broaden automation, and give in-depth insights by using the cloud, leading energy corporations will collaborate with chosen startups to solve sustainable energy and decarbonization problems.

The selected finalists will get technical, business, and go-to-market mentoring from AWS, as well as up to $100,000 in AWS Credit through AWS Activate to jumpstart their cloud-based data and operations transformation.

The selected businesses will receive assistance on how to use Amazon’s Culture of Innovation and Working Backwards approach to establish solution alignment and speed trials. Supporting partners will also provide exposure and general help to the finalists. The program will finish with an Innovation Showcase during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28) in Dubai in November 2023.

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