Post by Amsterdam Chemistry Network (ACN)

On 10 June, Amsterdam Chemistry Network (ACN) had the pleasure of organizing one of the breakout sessions at the very first Amsterdam Deep Tech Showcase, and what a session it was 🚀 Our panel, “Keep your friends close, your CO₂ closer,” brought together Ariana Dickey (Brineworks), Bjørn Utgård (Skytree), and Marcel Di Vece (AngelRock / University of Amsterdam) for a lively discussion on carbon capture and utilization (CCU) and what it really takes to move these technologies from scientific breakthrough to real-world impact. 🌍 A special thank you to Birgitta Kramer from ROM InWest for moderating the session with so much energy and insight. She kept the conversation dynamic, sharp and highly engaging, connecting perspectives across startups, scale-ups, academia and the wider innovation ecosystem. And of course, many thanks as well to our fantastic panellists — Marcel, Bjorn and Ariana — for sharing their valuable insights and contributions to such an engaging discussion. 👏 What made the panel especially interesting was that the discussion went far beyond the technology itself. It touched on the very real questions that will determine whether CCU can scale in practice: 🔹 What does it take to move carbon capture technologies from promising science to scalable deployment? 🔹 What is holding scale back most today: technology, cost, market demand — or all three? 🔹 What do we need more urgently right now to accelerate progress: policy certainty, corporate buyers, or patient capital? 🔹 What kinds of business models can help bridge the gap until carbon pricing and regulation mature? It was exactly the kind of conversation we had hoped for: open, energetic, and grounded in both the opportunities and the realities of building climate technologies that can make a difference. A strong reminder that scaling CCU is not only a scientific challenge, but also a question of ecosystem building, requiring alignment between researchers, startups, investors, corporates and policymakers. More broadly, it was fantastic to be part of the Amsterdam Deep Tech Showcase, which brought together founders, academics, investors, corporate innovators, policymakers and the international deep tech community arriving for Hello Tomorrow. A big thank you to the team at Amsterdam Trade & Invest for putting together such a strong first edition, and to the main partners behind the event: City of Amsterdam, StartupAmsterdam, the Amsterdam Economic Board, and many more, for making this showcase possible. 🙌 We are also proud that ACN supported the Amsterdam Deep Tech Showcase as one of the event sponsors, in addition to organizing one of the 10 breakout sessions. 🤝 A great reminder of how much energy there is in Amsterdam’s deep tech ecosystem, and how important it is to keep creating spaces where science, entrepreneurship and collaboration come together to tackle urgent challenges. ⚡ #AmsterdamDeepTechShowcase #DeepTech #CarbonCapture #CCU #ClimateTech #HelloTomorrow