The team aims to overcome a key barrier to scaling
EcoGeo has developed an innovative mineral-based porous material that can capture pollutants from air and water. The project’s first focus is carbon dioxide: today’s Direct Air Capture technology removes less than 0.001% of the amount of CO₂ that the world needs to remove by 2050. The challenge is not a lack of ambition, but a lack of suitable materials. Existing materials for capturing carbon dioxide are too costly, too fragile, or too difficult to manufacture at the scale required to meet the demands of the climate crisis.
EcoGeo aims to address this critical bottleneck by developing a new generation of mineral-based solid capture materials designed for scalability from the outset. The materials combine robust structural properties with efficient CO₂ capture, while being made from widely available and low-cost raw materials.
A strong foundation in fundamental research
EcoGeo originated from academic research focused on inexpensive and porous inorganic polymers. As the research progressed, it became clear that the materials being developed could also have significant potential for carbon capture. This opened up an opportunity to address one of the key challenges in the field: to identify effective CO₂-capturing materials that can be manufactured at scale and commercialized.
The team has developed the materials step by step, analyzed their properties, and tested their performance. The concept has now evolved into a functioning technology. Close collaboration with industry has helped guide the project forward while also highlighting the pressing need for materials that can be manufactured in large quantities without compromising performance.
Potential across growing carbon capture markets
EcoGeo operates at the intersection of advanced materials and climate technology. The team is targeting rapidly growing markets in carbon capture and utilization. The Direct Air Capture market alone
EcoGeo’s technology has several potential applications in these markets:
- Direct Air Capture: EcoGeo’s capture materials are designed to efficiently capture carbon dioxide at low concentrations, making them suitable for Direct Air Capture systems.
- Applicable to flue gases: EcoGeo’s materials can also be tailored to capture carbon dioxide from flue gases. This makes them potentially suitable for use in industrial settings such as power plants and the cement and steel industries.
- CO₂ utilization: Catalytic properties can be incorporated into EcoGeo’s materials, allowing captured CO₂ to be converted into valuable chemicals and fuels.
- Water treatment: The materials can also be used in wastewater treatment through adsorption and ion exchange to capture harmful substances from water.
Tailored to the needs of industry
EcoGeo helps advance technologies that remove CO₂ from the atmosphere while accelerating the transition towards a circular carbon economy.
EcoGeo’s innovation offers several key advantages. The capture materials and their manufacturing processes have been developed with industrial-scale production in mind. Based on laboratory tests, the materials remain stable over multiple capture and regeneration cycles. They can be produced in different forms, including beads, monoliths, and membranes, making them suitable for use in different types of reactors. The materials are also efficient and can be produced from widely available, low-cost mineral-based raw materials.
Future plans
EcoGeo has received Research to Business funding from Business Finland. The next step is to further test and validate the technology’s performance together with Direct Air Capture equipment suppliers and other potential users.
The invention has currently reached Technology Readiness Level 4 (TRL 4), meaning that its functionality has been demonstrated under laboratory conditions. Testing will continue in environments that closely reflect real-world operating conditions. The aim is to further investigate how effectively the material can capture carbon dioxide, withstand repeated use, and integrate into different capture systems.
Alongside technology development, the team is preparing for commercialization together with industrial partners and exploring potential markets and applications. One option is to establish a spin-off company after summer 2027. The team is also evaluating other routes to commercialization, including technology licensing and different partnership and licensing models.
Summary: Scalable materials enabling the future of carbon capture
EcoGeo develops next-generation solid capture materials designed to enable the scaling of carbon capture technologies, particularly for Direct Air Capture applications. Through advances in materials chemistry, the team is developing solutions that can help industries working towards net-zero emissions achieve their goals.
The EcoGeo team combines a strong passion for materials science with deep knowledge and hands-on experience in startups and technology commercialization. The team is also supported by experts who are well versed in building, scaling, and financing climate technology ventures. They bring both scientific excellence and practical business understanding to the project.
Join the collaboration
The University of Helsinki's commercialisation projects offer opportunities for collaboration across a wide range of industries and technology domains. We are interested in connecting with industry partners, investors, funding organisations, and potential customers to explore co-development, validation, piloting, licensing, venture creation, and other pathways to market.
Contact us
Dr. Mohammad Alzeer
University Lecturer
Project lead
Angelika Anttila
Commercial Lead
Christopher Ridgewell
Commercialization Advisor