ARK Capture Solutions Targets Affordable CO2 Capture

A Belgian cleantech startup founded just over two years ago is racing to fill a critical gap in the global fight against climate change: capturing carbon dioxide from the low-concentration industrial emissions that represent roughly half of all worldwide CO2 output. ARK Capture Solutions, based in Louvain-la-Neuve, Wallonia, argues that without scalable and affordable carbon capture technology, the world will not meet its 2050 climate targets.

A Neglected Segment of Global Emissions

The global carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) market is projected to reach between $6.7 billion and $17.6 billion by 2033, according to industry analysts. Yet the vast majority of existing CCUS projects — 77 commercial facilities were operational as of July 2025, capturing 64 million tons of CO2 annually — focus on high-concentration emission streams or direct air capture, which can cost $600 to $800 per ton.

What has been largely ignored is the middle ground: industrial flue gases with CO2 concentrations between 4 and 15 percent. This segment, produced by steel mills, glass factories, petrochemical plants, and biogas facilities, accounts for approximately 50 percent of global emissions. As Forbes Belgium reported in April, ARK’s co-founder and CEO Samuel Thiry put it bluntly: “This represents 50% of global emissions, and there was no viable solution for this segment.”

A Fully Electric Alternative

Traditional carbon capture relies on chemical absorption using amine solvents — a process that is energy-intensive, toxic, and produces degradation products released into the atmosphere. Amine systems can consume 20 to 30 percent of a coal plant’s electricity output just for solvent regeneration.

ARK has developed a radically different approach. Its patented hybrid carbon capture technology is fully electric, combining multiple physical gas separation techniques with a final cryogenic step that liquefies CO2 to 99.9 percent purity. The process requires no heat, no chemicals, and achieves a recovery rate above 95 percent. “Our method works only on electricity, without toxic substances,” Thiry told De Morgen.

The company targets capture costs of €80 per ton for large installations, with a long-term goal of €60 per ton — significantly below the €80 to €120 per ton range for amine-based systems, before accounting for infrastructure and toxicity costs.

From Founding to Pilots in Under Two Years

Founded in May 2024 by Samuel Thiry and Aurélien Vantomme — who together bring over 60 years of experience from TotalEnergies, John Cockerill, and other major energy players — ARK has moved with remarkable speed. “Before founding the company, we met 250 people: universities, industrialists, potential clients. We saw that no one had done it,” Thiry explained.

The startup raised €2.2 million in pre-seed funding in March 2025, led by Aperam Ventures and Seeder Fund, with participation from Climate Club, BeAngels, Lune Ventures, InvestBW, Noshaq, and Wallonie Entreprendre. It now employs 12 people, up from just four a year ago.

Today, ARK has three operational pilots, including one running on an industrial site with real emissions since March 2026. The company has progressed from a prototype capturing 2 tons of CO2 per year to a 40-ton-per-year pilot, and is now planning an industrial demonstration unit capable of capturing 400 to 1,000 tons annually. Its technology has reached Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6-7, meaning it has been demonstrated in a relevant environment.

The CO2 DISRUPT Project and Industrial Partnerships

ARK is the lead partner in CO2 DISRUPT, a €5.6 million consortium project supported by the Walloon Region and co-labelled by the GreenWin and MecaTech clusters. As Carbon Herald reported, the project brings together six partners including Aperam, ArcelorMittal Industeel Belgium, biogas producer Cinergie, research institute Certech, and the University of Mons.

The initiative will deploy a mobile pilot unit capturing 1 to 2 tons of CO2 per day at three major Walloon industrial sites. The goal is to produce low-carbon steel, decarbonized electricity, and food-grade biogenic CO2 — demonstrating that industrial decarbonization is commercially viable. “This project demonstrates that Wallonia can lead the way in industrial decarbonisation innovation while creating local value,” said Aurélien Vantomme, ARK’s co-founder and R&D Director.

Regulatory Tailwinds and Market Opportunity

ARK’s timing benefits from a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape in Europe. The EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) is gradually phasing out free CO2 allowances by 2034. The Net Zero Industry Act, adopted in May 2024, requires oil and gas producers to develop storage capacity of at least 50 million tons per year by 2030. And since January 2026, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has required importers of carbon-intensive products to purchase certificates equivalent to ETS prices.

“If you capture and store, you no longer have to pay these taxes. It’s a business case calculation,” Thiry told Forbes Belgium. Additionally, biogenic CO2 from biogas and waste incineration trades at €100 to €150 per ton as feedstock for synthetic fuels and construction materials, creating an additional revenue stream.

What’s Next

ARK is already engaged in tender processes in Latin America, Japan, and the United Kingdom, while pursuing commercial discussions with approximately 70 companies. The company’s immediate target is to secure its first commercial-scale contract — capturing 20,000 to 50,000 tons of CO2 per year — within 18 to 24 months.

With global CO2 capture capacity needing to reach 4 billion tons per year by 2050 — representing an equipment market estimated at €1.6 trillion between 2030 and 2050 — the stakes could hardly be higher. As Thiry put it: “Our future is international, but Belgium already offers gigantic potential.”

For a small country that emits 110 million tons of CO2 annually — with the Port of Antwerp alone accounting for 18 million tons — the successful scaling of ARK’s technology could prove transformative, both for Belgium’s climate goals and for its position in the global cleantech economy.