Danish Technology Converts Industrial CO2 into Calcium Carbonate

A new Grand Solutions project led by Ikkaton, a Danish climate technology company, will demonstrate a process that permanently sequesters CO2 as calcium carbonate. Innovation Fund Denmark is supporting the IKKA-TECH project, which has a total budget of DKK 18 million and will advance the technology to industrial demonstration and pave the way for future full-scale deployment.

With this investment from Innovation Fund Denmark, Ikkaton and its consortium partners can now accelerate the development of a unique method for converting CO2 into high-value calcium carbonate. A pilot plant will be constructed and operated with a direct connection to industrial flue gas, where approximately 100 kg of CO2 per day is expected to be captured and converted into high-purity calcium carbonate.

The technology addresses two central challenges simultaneously: it reduces industrial CO2 emissions while producing a valuable raw material. The calcium carbonate produced can replace conventionally manufactured filler material in applications such as paints, plastics, paper, and construction materials sectors whose current production is itself associated with significant CO2 emissions. This creates the opportunity to combine permanent CO2 sequestration with measurable value creation. At scale, the technology has the potential to both reduce emissions and establish a new value chain in which CO2 is treated as a resource rather than a waste.

“We are developing a solution in which CO2 is not merely reduced but converted into a useful product. With the support of Innovation Fund Denmark, we can now demonstrate the technology under realistic operating conditions and take a decisive step toward industrial scale-up,” says Erik Trampe, CEO and founder of Ikkaton.

From Research to Industrial Application

The technology is inspired by natural mineralization processes, in particular the distinctive ikaite formations best known from the Ikka Fjord in Greenland, where the mineral ikaite forms large, massive submarine columns under highly specific environmental conditions. In Ikkaton’s process, CO2 is absorbed from flue gas, precipitated as the mineral ikaite under controlled conditions, and subsequently transformed into stable calcium carbonate ready for industrial use.

The IKKA-TECH project will demonstrate the technology in a fully integrated pilot plant, validate CO2 capture from industrial flue gas, and document material quality together with industrial off-takers. The plant is designed as scalable modules that can be deployed at industrial point sources and adapted to a range of operating environments.

Consortium Expertise

The project brings together a consortium with expertise spanning CO2 mineralization, process design, gas handling, aqueous chemistry, crystallization control, sensor technology, and industrial application. Together, these competencies enable demonstration of the technology under realistic operating conditions and validation of material quality in relevant industrial end-uses.

Projects Facts

• Name: Name: Ikaite Carbon Capture Utilization & Storage – A Novel Permanent CO2 Capture, Utilization and Storage Solution (IKKA-TECH)
• Innovation Fund Denmark investment: DKK 13.4 million
• Total budget: DKK 18 million
• Duration: 24 months (May 2026 - May 2028)
• Partners: Ikkaton, Valmet, Mettler-Toledo, Københavns Universitet, Gøteborgs Universitet, BRIPA, PMH Plast