UniSieve Receives $9 Million for Industrial Membrane Technology

The Zurich-based deep tech company UniSieve has closed a Series A funding round totaling $9 million. The round was led by the Orano Venture Fund, which is managed by Supernova Invest. The Amadeus APEX Technology Fund, Founderful, Zürcher Kantonalbank, and Guenat Holding are also participating. UniSieve plans to use the capital to scale up its membrane technology for industrial gas separation and CO₂ capture to commercial levels. In total, the company has now raised $25 million.

Founded in 2018, UniSieve develops high-precision membranes that can be used to separate different gases from one another. The technology is designed to make industrial separation processes more energy-efficient and help companies make better use of raw materials while reducing emissions.

Replacing Energy-Intensive Separation Processes

The separation of different substances is one of the fundamental processes in the chemical industry and other industrial value chains. Thermal processes that require large amounts of energy are often used for this purpose.

UniSieve is developing an alternative based on special membrane materials. These are designed to selectively allow certain molecules to pass through while retaining others. This enables gases to be separated without requiring the same energy-intensive thermal processes.

The technology is intended for use particularly in settings where companies process large gas streams and the separation of individual components accounts for a significant portion of energy consumption.

UniSieve expects this to result in more compact systems, lower operating costs, and improved recovery of industrially used materials.

However, the company does not provide specific details on potential energy savings or cost advantages over existing processes in its latest press release.

From Membrane Material to Industrial Application

The technical challenge lies not only in developing suitable materials. It is also crucial to manufacture durable membranes from them that can be reliably used under industrial conditions and produced in large quantities.

According to the company, UniSieve has overcome this hurdle with a novel class of hybrid membranes.

To achieve this, the company combines advanced materials with a scalable manufacturing process. Based on this, the company aims to develop membrane systems suitable for larger-scale industrial applications.

To date, UniSieve has developed its technology to pre-commercial maturity in two application areas: the separation of olefins and CO₂ capture directly at industrial emission sources.

In both areas, the company points to reproducible manufacturing processes, performance data validated in practical use, and operational systems.

Two Application Areas with Industrial Potential

Olefin separation is particularly relevant for the chemical industry. Olefins such as ethylene and propylene are required as raw materials for numerous chemical products and plastics.

Their separation and processing are technically challenging and can require significant amounts of energy. Membrane-based processes could complement or partially replace existing processes in this area.

The second area of application is industrial CO₂ capture. The goal here is to separate carbon dioxide directly from gas streams in industrial plants.

Here, too, UniSieve aims to replace energy-intensive separation steps with more compact membrane systems.

UniSieve does not specify in the press release what separation rates, purity levels, or economic benefits the technology achieves under various industrial conditions.

First Paying Customers and Larger Systems

According to APEX Ventures, one of the investors involved, UniSieve has evolved in recent years from initial pilot applications to larger plants with paying customers.

This places the company on the cusp between technological validation and broader commercial use.

The new funding is primarily intended to further scale existing applications and open up additional industrial applications.

CEO Samuel Hess sees the replacement of thermal separation processes as a particularly important starting point. The membrane technology is intended to enable companies to recover more usable products, control emissions, and simultaneously reduce their costs.

Orano Venture Fund Leads Series A Round

The financing round is led by the Orano Venture Fund, an investment vehicle managed by Supernova Invest.

The fund focuses on European deep-tech companies that develop technologies for industrial performance, advanced process engineering, and sustainable chemistry.

In addition to capital, portfolio companies will also be able to benefit from the Orano Group’s industrial infrastructure and technical expertise.

Other investors in the round include the Amadeus APEX Technology Fund, Founderful, Zürcher Kantonalbank, and Guenat Holding.

With this latest Series A round, the total capital raised by UniSieve now stands at $25 million.

Commercial Scaling as the Next Challenge

With the new financing, industrial implementation is coming more into focus for UniSieve. Following the development and validation of the membranes, the company must now demonstrate that the technology can also be operated economically in larger plants.

In addition to separation performance, the membranes’ service life, reliability in continuous operation, and manufacturing costs play a particularly important role.

Potential applications range from chemical production processes to industrial gas separation and CO₂ capture.

With $9 million in additional capital and its first paying customers, UniSieve has laid the groundwork for the next stage of development. However, whether the membrane technology can actually replace existing thermal separation processes on a larger scale will only become clear with further industrial scaling.