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§ Private Profile · Binzstrasse 9, 8045 Zurich, Switzerland
UniSieve is a technology company.
UniSieve develops advanced molecular separation membrane solutions, offering an innovative approach to energy-efficient industrial processes. The company’s core technology centers on flexible molecular-sieve membranes, engineered to perform highly selective separation of gases, including CO2, and various chemicals. These membranes aim to significantly improve yields and reduce emissions across a range of applications, providing a more sustainable pathway for critical industrial separations.
The company was founded in 2018 by Samuel Hess and Elia Schneider, who met as classmates at ETH Zurich. Their entrepreneurial journey began with the insight that a novel method for manufacturing and integrating porous materials could dramatically enhance separation technologies. This foundational discovery allowed them to create a system capable of addressing some of the most energy-intensive separation challenges in industry.
UniSieve’s products are primarily utilized within the chemical and energy sectors, targeting heavy industries that require substantial molecular separation capabilities. The company’s overarching mission is to decarbonize these industries by offering sustainable separation solutions. Looking forward, UniSieve aims to play a crucial role in mitigating carbon emissions and substantially reducing the carbon footprint of the chemical industry.
UniSieve has raised $143.1M across 3 funding rounds.
UniSieve has raised $143.1M in total across 3 funding rounds.
UniSieve has raised $143.1M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $4.6M Other Equity in November 2020.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 4, 2020 | $4.6M Venture Round | European Innovation Council | — | Announced |
| Nov 1, 2020 | $5M Seed | — | Founderful, Amadeus, Ciech Ventures, Zürcher Kantonalbank | Announced |
| Sep 12, 2018 | $133.5M Venture Round | Venture Kick | — | Announced |
UniSieve has raised $143.1M in total across 3 funding rounds.
UniSieve's investors include European Innovation Council, Founderful, Amadeus, CIECH Ventures, Zürcher Kantonalbank, Venture Kick.
UniSieve is a Switzerland‑based cleantech company that builds flexible molecular‑sieve membranes to enable low‑energy separations for hydrocarbon streams and CO₂, aiming to replace energy‑intensive processes like distillation and amine scrubbing to cut emissions and operating costs for heavy industries[4][2].
High-Level Overview
UniSieve’s mission is to decarbonize hard‑to‑abate, heavy‑emitting industries by providing scalable, energy‑efficient membrane systems for molecular separations such as olefin recovery and point‑source carbon capture[3][2].The company’s investment/backing profile includes seed and follow‑on funding from investors such as Amadeus APEX Technology Fund and Wingman Ventures, with reported total funding in the single‑ to low‑double‑digit millions (roughly $5–11M across sources)[5][1].As a product company, UniSieve’s core offering is flexible molecular‑sieving membranes that perform size‑exclusion separations for hydrocarbons and CO₂, serving chemical manufacturers, petrochemical plants, and other industrial energy users that need more efficient separations and carbon capture solutions[2][4].UniSieve positions itself to deliver substantial energy savings (claims of up to ~90% reduction compared with conventional approaches are stated by the company for some applications) and to improve product recovery and emissions footprints for customers[3][2].
Origin Story
UniSieve was spun out of ETH Zurich and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland; sources report the company was founded in 2018 and incubated from academic research at ETH[4][1].Founders and early team members come from the ETH research ecosystem (the company describes itself as a spin‑out), and early public milestones include support from Swiss innovation agency Innosuisse and seed funding rounds that enabled development and pilot deployments[4][5].Pivotal moments cited in press include raising seed financing (reported €4.9M / $5.5M in coverage) and public demonstrations of modular membrane systems targeted at olefin recovery and point‑source carbon capture[5][3].
Core Differentiators
Role in the Broader Tech Landscape
UniSieve rides multiple converging trends: industrial decarbonization, electrification and process‑electrification of chemical separations, and growing demand for point‑source carbon capture in hard‑to‑abate sectors[3][2].Timing matters because conventional separation processes (distillation, solvent‑based scrubbing) account for large industrial energy use and emissions, creating a sizeable addressable market if membrane solutions can deliver lower cost and reliable performance at scale[1][2].Market forces in UniSieve’s favor include regulatory pressure on industrial emissions, corporate net‑zero commitments by chemical and petrochemical firms, and investor interest in capital‑efficient decarbonization technologies[1][3].If UniSieve’s membranes achieve demonstrated long‑term durability, manufacturability at scale, and cost parity or advantage versus incumbent options, the company could materially influence how industry performs separations and captures CO₂, potentially reducing operating emissions across multiple sectors[2][3].
Quick Take & Future Outlook
Near term, UniSieve’s priorities are likely to be scaling manufacturing, demonstrating long‑duration field performance in commercial pilot projects (especially for olefin recovery and point‑source CO₂ capture), and securing commercial customers and follow‑on funding to expand deployments[5][3].Key trends that will shape the company’s trajectory include membrane longevity and fouling performance in real industrial streams, unit‑cost reductions through scale‑up, and evolving regulation or incentives for industrial carbon reductions that improve project economics[2][1].If UniSieve proves its membranes at industrial scale with reliable uptime and cost savings, it could become a widely adopted supplier of low‑energy separation modules that accelerate decarbonization in hard‑to‑abate sectors—fulfilling its stated mission to replace energy‑intensive separation processes[3][2].
If you’d like, I can: provide a short investor‑style SWOT based on public reporting, summarize recent funding and pilot announcements with dates, or draft questions to ask UniSieve’s team about scale‑up and durability for investor due diligence.