Belgian Startup Aims to Make CO2 Capture Affordable at Industrial Scale

A Walloon cleantech startup founded just over two years ago believes it has cracked one of the hardest problems in industrial decarbonization: capturing carbon dioxide from low-concentration flue gases at a price that makes economic sense. Without such breakthroughs, the company argues, global climate targets for 2050 will remain out of reach.

ARK Capture Solutions, based in Louvain-la-Neuve, has developed a patented fully electric hybrid carbon capture technology that combines multiple physical gas separation techniques with a final cryogenic step, producing 99.9% pure liquid CO₂. The system requires no heat, no chemical additives, and achieves a recovery rate exceeding 95%, according to Forbes Belgium.

A Critical Market Gap

The global carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) market is projected to reach between $6.7 and $17.6 billion by 2033. Yet most existing solutions focus on either high-concentration industrial streams or direct air capture (DAC), which costs $600–800 per ton. The vast middle ground — industrial flue gases with CO₂ concentrations between 4 and 15% — has remained largely neglected.

“This represents 50% of global emissions, and there was no viable solution for this segment,” Samuel Thiry, CEO and co-founder of ARK Capture Solutions, told Forbes Belgium.

Traditional amine-based solvent systems, the incumbent technology for carbon capture, require 20–30% of a power plant’s electricity output just to regenerate the solvent. Worse, the solvents themselves are toxic, and their degradation products are released back into the atmosphere. As Thiry explained: “Not only is there a huge amount of energy needed to extract CO₂ from this solvent, but it is also toxic. The degradation products are released back into the atmosphere.”

How the Technology Works

ARK’s approach is fundamentally different. Instead of relying on chemical absorption, the company’s fully electric hybrid process uses physical gas separation techniques followed by cryogenic liquefaction. Because it requires no heat or chemicals, the system can be added downstream of existing industrial facilities without modifying core operations.

“We are a post-combustion solution: the industrial capital does not change, we simply add our equipment downstream,” Thiry noted.

The cost advantage is significant. ARK estimates capture costs at €80 per ton for large installations, with a long-term target of €60 per ton. This compares favorably to the €80–120 per ton range for amine-based systems — and those figures don’t account for the infrastructure and toxicity costs associated with chemical solvents.

From Lab to Industrial Reality

ARK was founded in May 2024 by Samuel Thiry and Aurélien Vantomme, who together bring over 60 years of experience from TotalEnergies and other industrial giants. The company moved with remarkable speed: within nine months, it closed a €2.2 million pre-seed round backed by Aperam Ventures, Seeder Fund, BeAngels, Wallonie Entreprendre, Noshaq, and Invest.BW.

Today, ARK operates three pilot sites, including one on an actual industrial installation. The technology has reached Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6–7, meaning it has been demonstrated in a relevant environment. Testing is underway at Aperam Châtelet, ArcelorMittal Industeel Belgium, and Cinergie Fleurus (biogas), as reported by Carbon Herald.

The company is also part of the CO₂DISRUPT project, a €5.6 million ($6.5 million) consortium co-labeled by the GreenWin and MecaTech clusters and supported by the Walloon government. A mobile capture unit collecting 1–2 tons of CO₂ per day is being deployed at partner industrial sites, with full industrial demonstration units planned for late 2026.

Regulatory Tailwinds

ARK’s timing aligns with 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 corresponding to ETS rights.

“If you capture and store, you no longer have to pay these taxes. It’s a business case calculation,” Thiry explained.

Biogenic CO₂ from biogas plants or waste incinerators presents an additional revenue opportunity, trading at €100–150 per ton as feedstock for synthetic fuels or mineralization in construction materials.

Global Ambition, Belgian Roots

Despite its early stage, ARK is already thinking internationally. The startup is involved in tender procedures in Latin America, Japan, and the UK, and has started a pre-FEED (Front-End Engineering Design) study in Flanders for a larger-scale project. The company has grown from four to twelve employees in the past year and is in contact with approximately seventy potential industrial clients.

“Our future is international, but Belgium already offers gigantic potential,” Thiry said.

Belgium emits 110 million tons of CO₂ annually, with the Port of Antwerp alone accounting for 18 million tons per year. The Mons-Charleroi region and the Liège basin represent major industrial emission zones that could benefit from ARK’s technology.

The company’s achievements have not gone unnoticed. In June 2026, ARK won Gold in the Impact Category at the Belgium Startup Awards, recognizing its potential to drive meaningful environmental change.

What’s Next

ARK’s immediate target is to sign its first “scale” contract — capturing 20,000 to 50,000 tons of CO₂ per year — within the next 18 to 24 months. The global CCUS equipment market is projected at €1.6 trillion (~$1.85 trillion) between 2030 and 2050, and ARK aims to claim a significant share of that opportunity.

However, questions remain. Can the company achieve its target cost of €60 per ton at commercial scale? Will the technology perform consistently across different industrial sectors with varying flue gas compositions? And can ARK secure the Series A funding needed to bridge the gap from pilot to full commercial deployment?

What is clear is that ARK Capture Solutions has identified a genuine gap in the carbon capture market and built a credible solution with strong industrial backing. In a world racing toward net-zero, technologies that can make CO₂ capture affordable for the neglected middle segment of industrial emissions may prove indispensable. As De Morgen put it: without this technology, the 2050 climate goals may simply be unattainable.