Origen Carbon Solutions

Name	Origen Carbon Solutions
Tagline	Developing lime-based, engineered carbon removal using proprietary oxyfuel kilns for industrial decarbonization.
Headquarters	Bristol, United Kingdom
Founded	2013
Stage	Series A
Business Model	B2B
Industry	Cleantech / Climatetech
Technology	Hardware
Geography	Western Europe
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Academic Spinout
Funding Label	Series A (total disclosed ~$15,120,000)

Links

• Website: https://www.origencarbon.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/origen-carbon-solution

The Short Version

Origen Carbon Solutions is building a zero-emission lime platform designed to turn a foundational industrial material into a permanent carbon removal asset, a bet that has attracted strategic capital from energy and industrial partners [Origen Carbon, Jan 2025]. Founded in 2013 as an academic spinout, the company has developed a proprietary oxyfuel kiln technology that performs the lime cycle while capturing a pure stream of CO2, aiming to decarbonize a hard-to-abate sector and generate engineered carbon removal credits simultaneously [LinkedIn, retrieved 2024]. Its wedge is the integration of a drop-in industrial technology with the existing lime and cement supply chain.

The founding team combines deep scientific credibility with commercial execution. Co-founder and Chief Scientist Tim Kruger is a recognized authority on carbon removal who previously ran the Oxford Geoengineering Programme [Net Zero Climate, retrieved 2026]. CEO Ben Riddle-Turner, who joined in 2019, brought a finance and carbon markets background from prior roles at UBS and Antipodes Partners [Origen Carbon, retrieved 2026].

A $13 million Series A round led by Barclays Climate Ventures closed in January 2025, with strategic participation from Shell Ventures, engineering firm Hatch, and producer Mississippi Lime Company [Origen Carbon, Jan 2025]. The business model targets both the sale of zero-carbon lime and the sale of high-durability carbon removal credits. Over the next 12-18 months, the key milestones to watch are the commissioning of the Singleton Birch pilot plant in the UK and the progression of the Pelican Direct Air Capture Hub project in the US Gulf Coast [Invest Humber, retrieved 2026], [Shell Global, retrieved 2026].

Taxonomy Snapshot

Axis	Classification
Stage	Series A
Business Model	B2B
Industry / Vertical	Cleantech / Climatetech
Technology Type	Hardware
Geography	Western Europe
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Academic Spinout
Funding	Series A (total disclosed ~$15,120,000)

Origen Carbon Solutions, operating as Origen, was founded in 2013 in Bristol, United Kingdom [The Company Check, retrieved 2024]. A significant organizational milestone occurred in 2019 when Ben Riddle-Turner joined as CEO [Origen Carbon, retrieved 2026]. A key technical milestone was achieved in early 2026 with the successful first large-scale deployment and testing of its novel zero-emissions lime kiln at the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) in North Dakota [Carbon Herald, Jan 2026], [World Cement, Jan 2026]. The company also completed main construction work on a separate zero-carbon lime kiln project with UK lime supplier Singleton Birch in July 2022 [Invest Humber, retrieved 2026]. As of July 2025, public sources estimate the company's headcount to be between 11 and 50 employees [Tracxn, Jul 2025].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Founding year and key executive roles are confirmed by multiple sources; technical milestone claims are corroborated by industry press. Specific founding narrative and some historical funding details rely on single sources.

What They Have Built

Origen's product is a zero-emission lime kiln, a piece of industrial hardware that serves a dual purpose: producing a critical industrial material while capturing carbon dioxide. The company's core innovation is the ZerCaL™ oxyfuel kiln, a proprietary design that burns fuel in pure oxygen to create a CO2-rich exhaust stream [ClimateJobsList, retrieved 2024]. This process is integrated with the natural lime cycle, where limestone (CaCO3) is heated to produce lime (CaO) and CO2, and the lime is later re-carbonated with atmospheric CO2 to complete the cycle [CO2 Value Europe, retrieved 2024].

In January 2026, Origen announced it had completed the first deployment and testing of its novel zero-emissions lime kiln at the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) in North Dakota [Carbon Herald, Jan 2026], [World Cement, Jan 2026]. The demonstration unit is capable of producing approximately 3,700 tonnes of lime per year [Carbon Herald, Jan 2026]. According to technical reports, the kiln consistently achieved greater than 99% conversion of limestone to lime [World Cement, Jan 2026]. Origen is also working with Singleton Birch, the UK's leading independent lime supplier, to develop an environmentally-friendly production method [Invest Humber, retrieved 2026]. The main construction for this zero-carbon lime kiln was finished in July 2022 [Invest Humber, retrieved 2026].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Core technology claims and demonstration results are corroborated by multiple industry publications and a partner announcement.

Market Size and Demand

The engineered carbon removal market is transitioning from pilot-scale demonstrations to commercial deployment. According to a 2023 report from McKinsey & Company, the market for durable carbon dioxide removal could reach between $6 billion and $16 billion annually by 2030 [McKinsey & Company, 2023]. The serviceable addressable market for Origen targets industrial emitters in sectors like lime production, power generation, and cement, which are collectively responsible for over 20% of global CO2 emissions [IEA, 2023]. The Pelican Direct Air Capture Hub aims to eliminate around 1 million tonnes of CO2 in the future [Shell Global, 2026].

Metric	Value
Corporate CDR Market by 2030	16 $B
Potential DAC Hub Capacity (Pelican)	1 Million Tonnes CO2

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Market sizing relies on analogous third-party reports for carbon removal and industrial decarbonization, not company-specific TAM. Project capacity figures are from a single corporate source.

Who Else Is Fighting for This

Origen's competitive position is defined by its focus on the lime cycle as a dual-purpose industrial process. A comparison of Origen against the named competitors in its immediate space shows a hardware-focused, venture-scale field.

Company	Positioning	Stage / Funding	Notable Differentiator
Origen Carbon Solutions	Lime-cycle DAC; zero-emission lime production platform.	Series A (~$15.1M disclosed)	Proprietary oxyfuel kiln integrates lime production and carbon capture.
CarbonCapture	Modular DAC using solid sorbents.	Series A ($80M)	Focus on modular, scalable units for carbon removal projects.
Heirloom Carbon	Direct air capture using accelerated carbon mineralization of limestone.	Series B ($113M)	Uses abundant limestone feedstock to passively capture CO2.

Origen's defensible edge lies in its strategic industry partnerships and its focus on a 'drop-in' industrial technology. The involvement of investors like Shell Ventures, Hatch, and Mississippi Lime Company provides validation and potential pathways to deployment within existing industrial supply chains. The successful demonstration of its oxyfuel kiln at the Energy & Environmental Research Center provides a technical proof point that de-risks the core hardware [Carbon Herald, Jan 2026], [World Cement, Jan 2026].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitor funding and positioning for CarbonCapture and Heirloom Carbon are from public databases; Origen's differentiation and partnerships are from company and news sources.

Opportunity

The prize for Origen is the potential to become the foundational infrastructure for decarbonizing one of the world's most carbon-intensive industrial processes while simultaneously scaling a cost-effective form of engineered carbon removal. The company's proprietary oxyfuel kiln was successfully demonstrated at the Energy & Environmental Research Center in North Dakota, a unit capable of producing approximately 3,700 tonnes of lime per year [Carbon Herald, Jan 2026].

Scenario	What happens	Catalyst
Industrial Partner Rollout	Origen's technology becomes the standard for green lime production.	Successful operation of the kiln built with Singleton Birch [Invest Humber, retrieved 2026].
Carbon Removal Hub Anchor	Origen's kilns become the core technology for large-scale DAC hubs.	Securing final investment decision for the Pelican Gulf Coast Carbon Removal project [Shell Global, retrieved 2026].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- The core technology demonstration is well-cited by multiple industry publications. Growth scenarios are extrapolated from announced partnerships and investor composition.

Sources

1. [Origen Carbon, Jan 2025] Origen secures $13 million Series A to deploy limestone-based direct air... | https://www.origencarbon.com/news/origen-series-a/
2. [LinkedIn, retrieved 2024] Origen Carbon Solutions | https://www.linkedin.com/company/origen-carbon-solution
3. [The Company Check, retrieved 2024] Origen Carbon Solutions | https://www.thecompanycheck.com/company/b/origen-carbon-solutions/oi9yf02eqlrkozjus
4. [Net Zero Climate, retrieved 2026] Tim Kruger | https://netzeroclimate.org/author/tim-kruger/
5. [Origen Carbon, retrieved 2026] Ben Riddle-Turner | https://www.origencarbon.com/ben-riddle-turner/
6. [Carbon Herald, Jan 2026] Origen exceeds performance targets for first-of-a-kind zero-emission lime kiln | https://www.origencarbon.com/news/origen-eerc-demo
7. [World Cement, Jan 2026] Origen exceeds performance targets for first-of-a-kind zero-emission lime kiln | https://www.worldcement.com/europe-central-asia/16012024/origen-exceeds-performance-targets-for-first-of-a-kind-zero-emission-lime-kiln/
8. [ClimateJobsList, retrieved 2024] Origen Carbon Solutions | https://www.climatejobslist.com/companies/origen-carbon-solutions
9. [CO2 Value Europe, retrieved 2024] Origen Carbon Solutions | https://database.co2value.eu/companies/48
10. [Invest Humber, retrieved 2026] Singleton Birch and Origen Carbon Solutions partner to develop zero-carbon lime kiln | https://investhumber.co.uk/singleton-birch-and-origen-carbon-solutions-partner-to-develop-zero-carbon-lime-kiln/
11. [Shell Global, retrieved 2026] Shell and partners plan to develop a carbon capture and storage hub in the Gulf of Mexico | https://www.shell.com/energy-and-innovation/carbon-capture-and-storage/shell-and-partners-plan-to-develop-a-carbon-capture-and-storage-hub-in-the-gulf-of-mexico.html
12. [Tracxn, Jul 2025] Origen Carbon Solutions | https://tracxn.com/d/companies/origencarbonsolutions/__A2ykQyozwIL50DQIEqAG2z0RHGuxgjdLBFqAkjvmk4k
13. [McKinsey & Company, 2023] The carbon removal market could reach up to $1.2 trillion by 2050 | https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/a-blueprint-for-scaling-voluntary-carbon-markets-to-meet-the-climate-challenge
14. [IEA, 2023] Industry | https://www.iea.org/energy-system/industry
15. [S&P Global, 2023] US Inflation Reduction Act's 45Q tax credit boosts economics for carbon capture projects | https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/energy-transition/082323-us-inflation-reduction-acts-45q-tax-credit-boosts-economics-for-carbon-capture-projects
16. [BloombergNEF, 2024] Energy Transition Investment Trends 2024 | https://about.bnef.com/energy-transition-investment/
17. [ICVCM, 2023] The Core Carbon Principles | https://icvcm.org/the-core-carbon-principles/
18. [Crunchbase, retrieved 2024] CarbonCapture Inc. | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/carbon-capture
19. [Crunchbase, retrieved 2024] Heirloom Carbon | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/heirloom-carbon-technologies
20. [YouTube, 2024] Origen Carbon: Engineering Carbon Removal at Planetary Scale | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxFFYNVGnmc