2025 Year in Review
As we close out 2025, we’re taking a moment to reflect. Not just on what we achieved, but on what it means for Origen’s path forward.
This was the year we proved our technology works at scale. The year we moved decisively from concept to reality. And the year we laid the groundwork for the first commercial deployments of our zero-emission lime decarbonization platform.
It wasn’t an easy year. Shifting market dynamics, evolving policy signals, and a tougher climate-tech funding environment tested teams across the sector. But those pressures only sharpened our focus. What we accomplished in the past 12 months gives us real confidence - and real momentum - heading into commercialization.
Below, we look back at the milestones that made 2025 a defining year for Origen.
$13 Million Series A
We kicked off the year by closing a $13 million Series A funding round, led by Barclays Climate Ventures, with participation from Shell Ventures, Exascale Fund, Elemental Impact, and Hatch.
This capital is directly enabling the engineering, deployment, and commercialization of Origen’s zero-emission lime kiln and carbon removal system. For our team, the round was more than a financial milestone. It was a strong signal of confidence in both our technology and our path to scale.
We are incredibly grateful to our partners for their support, which continues to translate into tangible progress on the ground each and every day.
First-of-a-Kind Demonstration
In August, we reached a major technical milestone: commissioning our first-of-a-kind zero-emission lime kiln and air contactor at the Energy & Environmental Research Center in North Dakota.
This wasn’t a lab experiment. We designed, built, and operated a new industrial system - an eight-story lime kiln engineered from repurposed equipment - capable of producing over 3,000 tones of zero-emission lime and removing more than 2,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year.
Most importantly, it worked.
Seeing years of engineering, modeling, and iteration perform in the field was a defining moment for our team. It validated the core premise of our approach and confirmed that our limestone-based system can deliver a durable, scalable platform for decarbonization in real-world conditions.
Commercial Engineering
While demonstration proved the technology, 2025 was also about preparing for commercial deployment. Together with our EPC partner Hatch, we are nearing completion of pre-FEED engineering work for our first commercial facilities, including the Pelican DAC Hub in Louisiana.
This work applies learnings from our pilot and demonstration programs to a site-specific commercial design, delivering up to ~200,000 tonnes per year of CO₂ removal. It defines equipment sizing, system integration, and project-level cost and operability assumptions across both the zero-emission lime kiln and the fully integrated DAC system.
This progress puts us in a strong position to move from proven technology to true commercial-scale deployment that delivers meaningful climate impact.
Expanding Our Technology Center in Bristol
To sustain our momentum, we expanded our Technology Center in Bristol - investing not just in infrastructure, but in our team’s ability to push our technology further. The upgraded facility empowers our engineers and scientists to continuously improve our system, explore new design innovations, and turn promising ideas into practical breakthroughs
With enhanced capabilities for rapid prototyping, testing under simulated operating conditions, and system validation, the center directly supports Origen’s planned commercial deployments. As we scale, this environment enables faster learning cycles, greater confidence in performance, and disciplined cost and reliability improvements. We were proud to mark the expansion alongside our investors and partners, celebrating a milestone that reflects how far Origen has come, and the exciting progress ahead.
Advancing Commercial Pathways for Reductions and Removals
Alongside engineering progress, we advanced commercial pathways that reflect the versatility of Origen's limestone-based decarbonization platform:
- · Zero-emission lime, enabling emissions reductions across hard-to-abate industrial sectors and unlocking scalable carbon removal pathways
- · Fully integrated direct air capture, delivering durable, high-quality carbon removals at scale
Throughout the year, we progressed opportunities with partners at the forefront of decarbonization - organizations that recognize delivering meaningful climate impact is complex, capital-intensive, and worth prioritizing. These engagements underscore the importance of close partnership, whether integrating new solutions into established industrial value chains or collaborating with fellow innovators to bring truly groundbreaking systems to market.
This dual capability remains a core differentiator for Origen as markets mature and climate strategies evolve.
Recognition Across the Climate Innovation Ecosystem
In parallel with technical progress, Origen was recognized by leading organizations across the UK and global climate community.
We were named a winner of the BE100, selected from more than 1,000 applicants as one of Europe’s most promising planet-positive businesses. We were also named a winner at the UK Greenhouse Gas Removals Hub Innovation Day, joining the UK's first dedicated CO2 removal accelerator.
Our team actively contributed to industry dialogue throughout the year - from Climate Week and VERGE to Carbon Unbound - engaging with buyers, investors, policymakers, and peers working to build credible, scalable decarbonization pathways.
Growing the Team Behind the Technology
None of this progress happens without people.
In 2025, we grew our team across commercial, finance, and technical functions, all while continuing to operate across four time zones. Alongside onboarding new teammates, we invested deliberately in how we work together: hosting training sessions and team workshops, creating space to collaborate deeply, and carving out time to celebrate key achievements in person.
We also strengthened the foundations of our culture with a new culture playbook and improvements to our benefits package, ensuring Origen remains a place where people can thrive.
As we head into 2026, we’re committed to building not just breakthrough technology, but a company where talented, mission-driven people are supported, connected, and empowered to do their best work.
Looking Ahead
2025 was a year of proof. Proof that Origen’s technology works, proof that it can scale, and proof that our approach can unlock both emissions reductions and durable removals.
The challenges facing climate tech are real. But so is the progress we’ve made. With our demonstration online, commercial pathways advancing, and our first deployments on the horizon, we’re more determined than ever to bring what we’ve proven to life.
The next chapter is about delivery.