RIFT raises €114 million for the world’s first commercial iron fuel project
Innovative technology aims to decarbonize industrial heat at scale
Netherlands – RIFT has secured €113.8 million in financing to advance its Iron Fuel Technology toward commercial deployment. The funding consists of an €83.1 million Series B round led by PGGM, a Dutch pension fund investor, with participation from Invest-NL, the Dutch national investment institution, and regional development agency 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.
At €83.1 million, the Series B round is exceptional for a hardware and cleantech company at this stage. The financing enables the transition from industrial pilot projects to commercial realization of the technology. The investor consortium, which previously backed RIFT, continues its support in this new round.
“As a consortium, we have closely followed RIFT’s development and see strong potential for tangible industrial impact”, said 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.”
RIFT’s selection under the EU Innovation Fund, the European Union’s funding program for large-scale innovative decarbonization projects, highlights the European relevance of the technology. In this round, 61 projects were selected out of 359 applications.
“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.”
Remco Westerbeek, Investment Manager at Invest-NL
Sustainable alternative to fossil fuels
RIFT focuses on one of the most challenging aspects of the energy transition: the decarbonization of industrial heat. Sectors such as food processing, chemicals, and building materials require continuous high-temperature heat for their production processes. Today, 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 decarbonizing industry.
RIFT provides 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.
“RIFT can take a significant step toward commercializing its promising technology with this financing. As an early investor, PGGM is pleased to participate in this new funding round. RIFT’s sustainable energy solution aligns well with the mandate given to us by Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn: investing in companies that contribute to the energy transition and the decarbonization of industry, within the risk-return framework of the PFZW investment policy.”
Tim van den Brule, Investment Director at PGGM Infrastructure
Next phase
“Over the past years, we have demonstrated that Iron Fuel Technology performs reliably in an industrial environment,” said 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 decarbonizing industrial heat at scale.”
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 decarbonized heat, resulting in total avoided CO₂ emissions of over one million tonnes.
TU/e spin-off
RIFT (Renewable Iron Fuel Technology) is a TU/e spin-off developing circular, fossil-free industrial heating using iron powder. Emerging from student team SOLID, the company already secured €11 million in funding from investors like PGGM and Invest-NL. The startup has also received backing from Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Fellows program. The technology offers a sustainable, high-temperature alternative to fossil fuels.