Holcim Invests in Carbon Storage Startup 44.01

Building materials company Holcim announced today an investment in carbon sequestration technology company 44.01, aimed at advancing a commercial relationship between the companies, and supporting 44.01’s international expansion.

Founded in 2020, Oman-based 44.01 provides solutions to eliminate CO2 captured from the air or from hard-to-abate industrial processes by turning it into rock, through its technology to accelerate the natural process of CO2 mineralization. The company’s solution takes captured CO2 and dissolves it in water, creating an acidic solution that mobilizes cations within rock that reacts with the CO2 and mineralizes it, and injects the fluid deep underground, where high pressure, temperature and high CO2 concentration causes a rapid mineralization process.

The investment builds on an existing partnership between the companies, including a pilot project at Holcim’s Fujairah cement plant in the UAE, announced in December 2025. The project, which operates under live industrial conditions, captures CO2 emissions from cement production for permanent underground storage through mineralization, the companies added.

Holcim said that the investment aligns with its strategy to scale low-carbon technologies across the construction sector under its NextGen Growth 2030 strategy, in addition to supporting the UAE’s Net Zero 2050 pathway.

Ram Muthu, Head of Operational Excellence, Holcim, said:

“44.01’s breakthrough technology enables storage close to production given the right geological conditions, advancing decarbonization in line with Holcim’s NextGen Growth 2030 strategy. This pathway can help us manage captured carbon at inland sites across our operations where access to offshore storage may be limited.”

44.01 also announced an investment by JERA, Japan’s largest power generation company, marking the company’s first backing from the power sector, as well as additional funding from existing investors including ALIAD (Air Liquide Venture Capital) and Climate Investment. The new funding follows an $11.7 million carbon removal offtake deal in October with Frontier buyers including Google, H&M, Shopify and Stripe.

44.01 CEO Talal Hasan said:

“We’re delighted to have Holcim and JERA backing 44.01. Both understand the challenges of industrial decarbonisation and the need for practical, scalable solutions. Their investment is a strong endorsement as we move towards commercial-scale operations and bring our technology to new markets around the world.”