Backed by €113.8 million, Dutch startup RIFT to deliver 340 GWh of industrial heat annually and avoid over 1 million tonnes of CO₂,

Eindhoven-based CleanTech company RIFT has secured €113.8 million in combined financing (Series B + EU grant) to advance its Iron Fuel Technology from pilot projects toward commercial deployment, as well as develop its first commercial production facility.

The funding consists of an €83.1 million Series B round led by PGGM, with participation from Invest-NL, the Dutch national investment institution supported by the InvestEU programme, and Oost NL. Rubio Impact Ventures, Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij (BOM), and the Energietransitiefonds Rotterdam also participated. In addition, RIFT has been selected for a €30.7 million project under the EU Innovation Fund.

“Over the past years, we have demonstrated that Iron Fuel Technology performs reliably in an industrial environment,” says Mark Verhagen, CEO of RIFT. “We are now moving into the next phase, focusing on preparation and execution of our first commercial project. This represents a concrete step toward decarbonising industrial heat at scale.”

In the 2025–2026 period, EU-Startups has reported several significant funding rounds across the wider CleanTech and industrial decarbonisation landscape that provide context to today’s news.

Paris-based Spark Cleantech secured €30 million in Series A funding to scale its plasma-based technology aimed at reducing emissions in heavy industries such as glassmaking and metallurgy. Swiss energy platform enshift, headquartered in Zug, raised €18.5 million to expand integrated energy transition solutions spanning heating, storage and on-site generation for industrial and commercial customers. In Sweden, Stockholm-based Elvy secured €500 million in debt financing to accelerate deployment of solar, heat pumps and battery systems, while Marseille-based GravitHy raised €60 million to advance low-carbon iron production for cleaner steel manufacturing.

Taken together, these announcements represent over €608 million in disclosed funding directed towards energy transition and industrial decarbonisation initiatives across Europe during 2025–2026.

Compared with early-stage raises such as Spark Cleantech and enshift, RIFT’s funding sits at the upper end of venture rounds in this segment, reflecting the infrastructure requirements associated with first commercial deployment.

At the same time, it remains smaller than large debt facilities such as Elvy’s, underscoring the range of capital structures currently supporting Europe’s industrial energy transition.

“As a consortium, we have closely followed RIFT’s development and see strong potential for tangible industrial impact,” adds Tim van den Brule, Investment Director at PGGM Infrastructure. “Many industrial innovations stall in the transition from demonstration to realization. We have deliberately chosen a financing structure that provides capital through to execution, enabling the first commercial project to move into operation.”

Founded in 2020 by Mark Verhagen, Vincent Seijger and Lex Scheepers, RIFT develops and deploys iron fuel technology to decarbonise industrial heat. With approximately 75 employees, RIFT is advancing the commercial rollout of its circular iron fuel system in energy-intensive industries. The company aims to contribute at global scale to the structural reduction of industrial CO₂ emissions.

Sectors such as food processing, chemicals, and building materials require continuous high-temperature heat for their production processes. The company explains that this heat is largely generated using fossil fuels, primarily natural gas.

For many of these applications, electrification is not readily deployable due to high temperature requirements, large power demand, and limited grid capacity. A scalable, CO₂-free alternative is therefore an important condition for further decarbonising industry.

RIFT says they provide this alternative through a circular energy carrier based on iron. By replacing natural gas in industrial heat processes, high-temperature heat can be generated without direct CO₂ emissions.

Remco Westerbeek, Investment Manager bij Invest-NL shares: “Industrial heat is one of the largest sources of CO₂ emissions. With RIFT, we are investing in a solution that can directly contribute to reducing these emissions. We have strong confidence in the entrepreneurial team and are proud to continue supporting the company following the Series A as it advances toward its first-of-a-kind project.”

With this financing, RIFT will develop its first commercial production facility. From this facility, iron fuel will be supplied to multiple industrial customers that integrate Iron Fuel Boilers into their heat​processes. The first commercial contract was signed in mid-2025 with Kingspan Unidek, one of the customers participating in the project. The ambition is to be operational in 2029.

The project is expected to deliver approximately 340 GWh of industrial heat per year. Over a 15-year lifetime, this amounts to roughly 5 TWh of decarbonised heat, resulting in total avoided CO₂ emissions of over one million tonnes.

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