Major step in decarbonising industrial heat

RIFT has raised €113.8 million in funding to commercially deploy its iron fuel technology. The investment consists of a €83.1 million Series B round led by PGGM, with participation from Invest-NL and Oost NL. In addition, the company receives €30.7 million from the EU Innovation Fund.

The financing marks the transition from industrial pilot projects to the realization of the world’s first commercial installation based on iron fuel.

Breakthrough in industrial heat

Decarbonising industrial heat is one of the biggest challenges within the energy transition. Sectors such as the food industry, chemicals and construction materials require continuous high temperatures. For many applications, direct electrification is not yet technically or economically feasible, partly due to high power demand and limited grid capacity.

RIFT developed an alternative: a circular energy carrier based on iron. In a specially developed boiler, iron powder is combusted to generate heat. This produces iron oxide (rust), which is then converted back into iron powder. The result is a closed-loop system with no direct CO₂ emissions during heat production.

“With our industrial pilots, we have proven that the technology works reliably in an industrial environment. With this step toward commercialisation, we can now truly make impact at scale in one of the hardest-to-decarbonise parts of industry.”
— Mark Verhagen, CEO of RIFT

With the new funding, RIFT will develop its first commercial production facility. From this facility, iron fuel will be supplied to multiple industrial customers replacing their fossil-based heat installations with Iron Fuel Boilers. The first commercial contract was signed in 2025 with Kingspan Unidek. The ambition is to be operational around 2029.

The installation is expected to decarbonise approximately 340 GWh of industrial heat per year. Over a 15-year period, this amounts to roughly 5 TWh of decarbonised heat and more than 1 million tonnes of avoided CO₂ emissions.

Developed within the regional innovation ecosystem

RIFT is based at Cleantech Park Arnhem, where it has built its pilot facility and R&D activities. The technology is visible at the Demo Field of Connectr – Energy innovation, where innovations are tested and further developed in a real-world environment.

Within the Connectr ecosystem, companies, knowledge institutions, investors and governments collaborate to accelerate energy innovation. By offering space for demonstration, facilitating collaboration and connecting partners, an environment is created in which technology can grow from prototype to commercial application.

RIFT’s investment round demonstrates how regional innovation, long-term capital and European support come together in a concrete step toward industrial decarbonisation.

European recognition

The selection by the EU Innovation Fund — 61 projects out of 359 applications — underlines the strategic relevance of iron fuel for Europe. The fund supports large-scale innovative projects that contribute to structural CO₂ reduction and strengthening Europe’s competitive position.

With this step, iron fuel moves from promising innovation to commercial reality — a development that is not only significant for RIFT, but for the broader industry and the energy innovation ecosystem in which this technology was developed.

Source: Oost NL, RIFT