£25m backs Rivan to inject synthetic gas into grid from renewables, CO2
This article covers Rivan, a greentech startup, which has raised £25m in a growth funding round led by IQ Capital, with participation from Plural, Fundomo and angel investors including Thomas Wolf, Matt Clifford and Markus Villig. The funding will support deployment of what the startup describes as Europe’s largest synthetic natural gas plant, the opening of a 50,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in London and an expanded engineering team, aiming to domesticise gas supply and reduce exposure to import-driven price shocks for UK and European industrial users.
Rivan, a greentech startup producing synthetic fuel, has raised £25 million in a growth funding round led by IQ Capital, with participation from Plural, Fundomo and angel investors including Thomas Wolf, Matt Clifford and Markus Villig. The cash will fund deployment of what the company describes as Europe’s largest synthetic natural gas plant, the opening of a 50,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in London and a rapid expansion of its engineering team — moves aimed at domesticising gas supply and reducing exposure to import-driven price shocks.
Why it matters
Europe and the UK remain heavily dependent on imported natural gas, a vulnerability exposed by supply disruptions and volatile prices. Rivan’s approach—making synthetic natural gas from renewable electricity and captured CO2—targets those risks by producing a drop-in fuel that can use existing pipelines and storage. If scaled, the company says its output could cover a substantial share of industrial demand and remove greenhouse gas from the atmosphere, shifting part of gas supply from geopolitically sensitive imports to locally produced synthetic fuel.
Inside the product
Rivan integrates the full production chain: renewable power to green hydrogen, direct air capture of CO2, and catalytic conversion into synthetic natural gas that is chemically identical to conventional gas. Because the gas is compatible with current infrastructure, the company argues projects can be deployed without large changes to pipelines or storage.
Operational progress to date includes a 1MW demonstration plant in Wiltshire—currently the largest of its kind in the UK—and a threefold increase in customer contracts over the past 12 months. The new funding is earmarked to enable the company to inject synthetic natural gas into the UK gas grid for the first time, scale manufacturing at a 50,000 sq ft London facility, and develop larger gigawatt-scale sites across the UK and Europe. Rivan also says it is partnering with Wales & West Utilities on what it calls the UK’s first grid-connected commercial synthetic natural gas project.
Who are the investors?
The round is led by IQ Capital, with participation from venture firm Plural, Fundomo and several angel investors including Thomas Wolf, Matt Clifford and Markus Villig. The investors cited Rivan’s combination of scientific progress, engineering execution and early commercial traction as the rationale for backing the company.
In the announcement, Jonno Evans, Partner at IQ Capital, said:
What Harvey and the team have achieved in the past two years is extraordinary. Rivan is proving that it is possible to create cost-competitive synthetic natural gas at scale. It is clear that Europe requires more resilient, secure, and clean energy supplies and Rivan’s technology is a critical component in delivering that. We look forward to supporting Harvey and the Rivan team to become the next energy major in Europe.
In the announcement, Taavet Hinrikus, Partner at Plural, said:
Producing synthetic fuel has historically been constrained by cost, complexity and scale. Rivan has made rapid progress in addressing each of these, moving from first principles through to a functioning system with early commercial validation. That combination of scientific progress, engineering execution and early traction is rare, and puts Harvey and the team in a strong position to build a new category of domestic energy production.
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Founder perspective
In the announcement, Harvey Hodd, Founder & CEO at Rivan, said:
We started Rivan to create a large-scale domestic supply of synthetic fuels, removing the price, supply and emissions risk crippling Europe today. Natural Gas will remain an essential part of the energy system, especially for heavy industry, but how it is produced needs to change. By vertically integrating the entire process and manufacturing entirely in-house, we can enable domestic production of synthetic fuels at a scale and price that can make a dent in Europe’s energy security plan. This new funding is a big step towards achieving that, and a small step towards our ultimate aim to make life sustainable on Earth.
Hodd founded Rivan in 2024 and has assembled a team of more than 30 engineers across electrical, chemical and mechanical disciplines. The company plans to grow to around 100 staff and aims to produce more than one billion cubic metres of synthetic natural gas annually within the next decade — a figure it says would represent almost 20 per cent of the UK’s industrial gas demand.
The bigger picture
Rivan’s announcement sits at the intersection of energy security and decarbonisation. Synthetic natural gas that can be injected into existing infrastructure could offer a transitional pathway for hard-to-electrify industry, while domestic production reduces exposure to international gas markets. Challenges remain: cost reduction at scale, the energy intensity of hydrogen production, and the sourcing and economics of CO2 capture all matter to viability.
For UK and European policymakers and investors, the deal reflects sustained interest in technologies that can both secure supply and cut emissions. If Rivan can translate its pilots into commercial, grid-connected projects, it will add a practical case study to debates about the role of synthetic fuels in regional energy systems.
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