Kvasir Technologies wants to make ship fuel from plant waste. Founded in Denmark in 2018, it uses solvothermal liquefaction: it heats lignocellulose, the woody material in straw, wood chips and other plant waste, in a solvent to about 400 °C and turns it into a crude oil that it says can fuel existing ship engines.
The European Innovation Council granted €2,497,250 towards SEAFARER, a €3.57 million project that ran from November 2022 to October 2025. According to the CORDIS report, its demonstration reactor completed a campaign "surpassing the 250-hour steady-state milestone", turning 49 to 58% of the dry biomass into oil. In June 2026 Kvasir raised €10 million and formed a joint venture with European Energy to plan a commercial plant. It has not yet sold fuel commercially, and its losses have grown.
Company file
- Legal entity
- Kvasir Technologies ApS, CVR 39878348
- Founded
- 19 September 2018
- CEO
- Joachim Bachmann Nielsen
- Demonstration plant
- Fredericia, up to 2 tonnes of biofuel a day, per company
- Investors
- EIFO, Maersk Growth, VÅR Ventures, The Footprint Firm, European Energy
- Joint venture
- KVEEN Biofuels with European Energy, commercial plant planned in Aabenraa
- EIC project
- SEAFARER, 1 Nov 2022 to 31 Oct 2025
- EIC funding
- Grant first
Where Kvasir Stands Today
The June 2026 Series A brought in the Danish renewables developer European Energy alongside the existing investors EIFO, Maersk Growth and the Footprint Fund. The two companies set up KVEEN Biofuels to build a commercial-scale plant in Aabenraa in southern Jutland; no capacity, cost or date has been published. European Energy's chief executive Knud Erik Andersen said what "will be decisive is achieving attractive price points and securing long-term offtake agreements". No offtake agreement has been announced.
The Technology: Cooking Wood Into Oil
The CORDIS report describes a crude with three fractions: a non-polar part of about half, which met the ISO 8217 marine fuel standard; a polar part of 30 to 40%, validated for methanol-powered ships without further refining; and 5 to 10% bitumen. Oxygen content fell to "<15% and in some runs <10%". The report's life-cycle assessment claims a "98% CO2e reduction vs. fossil marine fuel"; that figure is the project's own.
"This investment round enables us to take the next crucial steps in developing and scaling our technology."
Joachim Bachmann Nielsen, CEO, Kvasir Technologies, June 2026What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows
SEAFARER was to take the process from technology readiness level 6 towards 8. CORDIS reports an automated reactor with feeder, separation and safety systems, mass balances closing at 98 to 100%, and the 250-hour run. Engine testing at the Danish Technological Institute was "scheduled for early 2026", after the project ended, and the next goal is a first-of-a-kind plant investment decision. The report also says Kvasir "secured €20M Series A"; the company's own announcement in June 2026 gave the Series A as €10 million.
- Continuous demo operationDelivered250 hours steady state.
- Fuel meeting marine standardsPartialOne fraction meets ISO 8217.
- Engine testingPendingDue early 2026; no result published.
- Commercial plantNot yetJoint venture formed 2026.
What Has Happened Since the Award
Kvasir raised €2.15 million from VÅR Ventures and Maersk Growth in April 2023 and €3 million from The Footprint Firm and EIFO in February 2024, when it put its total funding at €11 million and was building the Fredericia demonstration plant. The team grew from two employees in the year to March 2022 to 17 in the year to March 2025.
The Money
The filed accounts show a company spending ahead of revenue. The net result went from a small profit in the year to March 2022 to losses of DKK 9.0 million in 2023-24 and DKK 16.2 million in 2024-25. Total assets rose from DKK 5.8 million to DKK 85.0 million as the demo plant was built, and equity was minus DKK 8.5 million in March 2025. The €10 million Series A came after that balance-sheet date.
What cannot be checked
The engine test results, the cost per tonne of Kvasir's fuel, the size and budget of the Aabenraa plant, and why the CORDIS report gives a €20 million Series A are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
A fuel that works in existing engines would let shipping cut emissions without replacing ships, which is Kvasir's pitch. The EIC paid most of the project that took Kvasir from a lab reactor to a demonstration plant. Whether that becomes European fuel production depends on a commercial plant that is still being planned.
What the project promised
A novel biofuel platform for maritime transport, taken towards TRL 8.
What the record shows
A 250-hour demo run, a partly compliant fuel, a €10M Series A and a commercial plant still in planning.
The Verdict
A working demo, a plant still to come
SEAFARER did the engineering it was paid for: a reactor that runs for days and a fuel that partly meets marine standards. Engine tests, a price and a buyer are still missing, and the company reported negative equity in March 2025.
Kvasir Technologies has not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on company statements, Danish company filings and EU project data, linked throughout.
