Hydryx, the Amsterdam-based ClimateTech startup tackling methane emissions from landfills, has closed a €2.5 million Seed round to accelerate its expansion into Europe – turning a global waste challenge into a powerful source of green energy.
The round was led by impact investor Marcel Smits and venture capital fund Graduate Entrepreneur, joined by a consortium of mission-driven entrepreneurial angel investors.
“This investment enables us to drastically reduce methane emissions across Europe; right now, when it matters most,” added CEO Anthonie Jacobson.
Hydryx’s Seed round fits within a wider 2025 trend of ClimateTech and WasteTech startups securing funding to tackle methane and waste emissions.
In February, Sweden’s Agteria Biotech raised €6 million to develop methane-reducing products for livestock, while Italy’s Resilco secured €5 million to convert industrial waste and ash into raw materials while storing CO₂.
Although these companies address different points of the emissions challenge, all reflect a movement toward turning waste and greenhouse gases into economic value. Hydryx’s focus on landfill methane conversion situates it within this data-driven transition, marking one of the few Netherlands-based efforts in a growing European ecosystem.
“Hydryx has the biggest ‘bang for your buck’ climate solution that I have seen,” said lead investor Marcel Smits.
Founded in 2023, Hydryx is a ClimateTech startup focused on landfill gas management, using automation and data to reduce methane emissions and increase landfill gas recovery.
Founders Anthonie Jacobson (CEO) and Joren Tangelder (COO) applied their expertise on climate and energy to landfills and developed a methane management system. It installs easily on existing infrastructure and captures methane before it leaks into the air, enabling landfill owners to turn it into green energy.
The result is less emissions, additional revenue for landfill operators, and proof that the most sustainable option can also be the smartest investment.
According to data provided by the company, landfills produce large quantities of methane, a greenhouse gas 86 times as potent as CO2, and have more impact on the climate than the aviation and shipping sectors combined.
In the Netherlands alone, there are over 6,000 closed landfills, with around 50 still actively producing landfill gas (LFG).
Globally, approximately 70% of waste is still dumped or landfilled, and total waste generation is expected to rise from 2.01 billion tonnes today to 3.4 billion tonnes by 2050. Landfills are responsible for roughly 6% of global climate change – more than the aviation and shipping sectors combined – and methane emissions can continue for up to a century after a site’s closure due to the slow, anaerobic decomposition of organic materials.
While methane emissions are declining within the EU, they are still increasing worldwide, meaning methane’s share of total climate impact continues to rise. Open dumps can release between 1 and 4 million tonnes of methane per site each year, and even modern sanitary landfills in Europe and the US leak between 100,000 and 250,000 tonnes annually.
On average, about 60% of the gas produced in a landfill escapes into the atmosphere, with only the remaining 40% typically captured for flaring, power generation, or upgrading. Given that methane is 220 times more potent than CO₂ over a 10-year period, reducing emissions from landfills presents one of the most immediate and impactful opportunities for climate mitigation.
Hydrix believes that if it is harnessed properly, landfill methane could become a major source of green electricity, heat, or renewable natural gas.
Together with Dutch waste management company Renewi, Hydryx is proving its approach: the system generates 40% more green energy from the landfill.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2025/10/backed-by-e2-5-million-hydryx-targets-the-silent-climate-threat-beneath-europes-landfills/
