This Founder Raised $65 Million To Create Carbon-Neutral Liquid Fuel From CO₂ And Green Hydrogen To Run The World’s Transportation

Claes Fredriksson has never taken the traditional path. Born in Sweden, raised across different continents from Australia to India, and later entrenched in global corporate life, his story is one of adaptability, grit, and a deep-seated desire to make the world greener.

Claes is the founder and CEO of Liquid Wind, a pioneering company creating carbon-neutral eFuels. He has built a business at the intersection of climate impact, innovation, and persistence, essentially creating something from nothing.

With over $80M raised and a team of around 85 employees, Claes’s journey is about long-term thinking and purpose-driven entrepreneurship. In this riveting interview, he talks about his engineering background and how it supported his endeavors.

Listen to the full podcast episode and review the transcript here.

Shaped by Global Roots

Claes’s early life was marked by constant movement, living in several countries before settling back in Sweden at age 13. “It shaped who I am today,” he reflects. “It taught me openness, adaptability, and the importance of adjusting to current situations in order to function.”

That global exposure would later become essential as Claes navigated markets and built cross-border partnerships for Liquid Wind. He learned new languages at a fairly young age before going through school and university.

Encouraged by his father’s example, Claes studied engineering. However, it was never formulas that fueled his ambition. “Sales and deals got me excited,” Claes admits. “I did deals to essentially extend my pocketbook and wallet.”

Even as a teenager, he figured out how to subsidize his hobbies by getting others involved. He was organizing ski trips, selling windsurfing gear, and turning passion into business. He would rope in his friends to join in the activities and take advantage of bundled deals.

The Corporate Chapter: Learning the Power of People

After university, Claes joined Tetra Pak, a globally renowned Swedish company. For 10 years, he traveled the world on their behalf, building markets from the ground up. He loved the excitement of experiencing new countries and working closely with colleagues from other markets.

Claes would work with them to figure out if what works in New Zealand would also work in Australia, Canada, or the US. Early on, they had a global view of the market since everyone needs packaged milk and juice–a universal theme.

What stuck with him wasn’t the packaging or product innovation but the human factor. “In the end, companies are made of people. You need to know who to convince internally and externally to make things happen.”

That lesson became pivotal when his time at Tetra Pak ended abruptly in Canada. He took a severance package and transitioned from corporate leader to entrepreneurial underdog. He was determined to carve a new path in clean technology.

Betting on Clean Tech Before It Was Cool

After experimenting with various technologies, including mobile and Bluetooth, Claes became drawn to the clean energy space, particularly CO₂ reduction. Soon, he was doing more clean tech deals or clean tech consulting.

Claes explored algaes, algae fuel, and was fascinated by the fact that algaes consume CO₂ quicker than any other biological entity that grows. Meanwhile, he moved to Sweden to take a job with the East India Company, that ran sailing ships to China around 250 years ago.

Claes ended up exploring sustainable shipping solutions, eventually stumbling upon the idea of converting CO₂ and hydrogen into methanol at a 2015 conference. “It was the missing puzzle piece,” he recalls. “From that day, I knew I’d dedicate myself to this–the clean tech space.”

That moment sparked the founding of Liquid Wind, a company designed to fast-track the geological process of fuel creation through man-made eFuels. As Claes points out, millions of people worldwide want to make a difference, realizing that they need a slightly different approach.

The Liquid Wind Business Model

Talking about the Liquid Wind business model, Claes explains that it is an initiative to develop eFuel facilities and sell it to investors who build the factory and produce the fuel. They repeat the process again and again. Though, he admits that the process takes time, discipline, and patience.

Claes’s vision? To develop 500 eFuel facilities that capture CO₂, combine it with green hydrogen, and produce sustainable methanol to replace fossil fuels in hard-to-decarbonize sectors like shipping, heavy-duty transport, and chemicals.

The concept is fairly simple–converting and combining the two molecules. The challenge lay in terms of trying to build a business and bringing the value chain players together. Claes started Liquid Wind with a three-person team.

He recalls how they organized an event attended by 40 people, including giants like Siemens Energy, Carbon Clean, and Topsoe. Their green fuel concept generated enough excitement, particularly when they explained they were ahead of the electro-fuel curve.

Building a Business From Zero to 85

What started as a three-person operation with a bold idea has now grown into a formidable team of around 85 employees across Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. But the journey wasn’t linear and included the challenge of building a team with the right people, departments, and divisions.

“It was never fully planned,” Claes says. “We just kept meeting people who believed in what we were doing. Those people shaped the company.” As the team grew, so did their capabilities.

From technical experts to power traders and financial modelers, each person brought something new to the mission. For instance, one team member, an expert in the electrical power trading industry suggested they create SPVs (Special Purpose Vehicles) and go after project financing.

As Claes says, “When you have enough people who believe in the vision and have enough passion and energy to push it through, phenomenal things happen.” A robust culture is what keeps everyone aligned and excited about the future ahead.

Claes underscores that since Liquid Wind was born and started to scale during COVID, it has people from different locations working together. They use tools like Zoom and Teams, having weekly check-ins to build that cohesion among people.

Now that Liquid Wind has an 85 member-strong team and operates out of two offices in Denmark, two in Sweden and one in Finland, meetings are now more in sub-departments in different areas.

The Funding Journey: Crowdfunding to Strategic OEMs

Unlike typical startups, Liquid Wind didn’t follow the usual venture capital route. “VCs said that since we didn’t have IP, we didn’t qualify,” Claes recounts.

Instead, the team turned to crowdfunding in Sweden and Canada and angel investors, then gradually brought OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and strategic partners into the fold.

Today, Liquid Wind’s cap table includes equipment vendors, a utility partner, and a single financial investor—a rare structure for a climate tech startup. So far, they’ve raised approximately €60M (~$65M) in capital and completed a project sale worth an additional $20M.

Storytelling is everything that Claes Fredriksson was able to master. The key is capturing the essence of what you are doing in 15 to 20 slides. For a winning deck, take a look at the pitch deck template created by Silicon Valley legend, Peter Thiel (see it here), where the most critical slides are highlighted.

Remember to unlock the pitch deck template that founders worldwide are using to raise millions below.

The Long Game of Green Fuel

Liquid Wind’s vision is clear: develop green eFuel factories and eliminate the dependency on fossil fuels. Claes foresees a world where it runs on electrically produced liquid fuel.

Claes is not about reinventing how the world works but decarbonizing what already exists. He would want green eFuel to power shipping and heavy transport, where batteries aren’t practical because of the lack of electric infrastructure.

The solution? eMethanol made from biogenic CO2 and green hydrogen, not oil from deep underground that has an impact on the atmosphere. Liquid Wind’s target customers include shipping giants, logistics companies, and nations seeking energy independence through sustainable liquid fuels.

Timing has played a huge role in building Liquid Wind, thanks to rising interest and consciousness in climate change issues. Maersk, the biggest shipping company in the world decided to go for green eMethanol in 2019.

Despite regulatory setbacks and price challenges, the momentum is building. With hundreds of Methanol ships now on order and a global spotlight on energy security and decarbonization, Liquid Wind is poised to capitalize on a wave that’s finally catching up.

Yet, as Claes candidly shares, it’s taken far longer than expected. “I thought we’d have our first factory up by 2019. Now we’re looking at 2027 or 2028. Everything takes three times as long in this space.”

He is confident that by keeping up the pace, they’ll see a phenomenal upswing in this space within the next few years.

Advice to Founders: It’ll Take Longer—But Do It Anyway

If Claes could speak to his younger self, his advice would be simple: “It will take three times as long as you expect. But it’s still worth it.”

Having spent time in both the polished world of big corporations and the unpredictable terrain of startups, he says nothing compares to the excitement and meaning of building something from scratch.

“You feel more alive. You spread hope and make a difference. And even with all the ups and downs, that makes it worth doing.”

Listen to the full podcast episode to know more, including:

• Claes Fredriksson built Liquid Wind to decarbonize shipping and heavy industry through scalable, green methanol production.
• His international upbringing and corporate experience taught him adaptability and the power of human relationships in business.
• Liquid Wind grew from a three-person idea to around 85 employees and $80M+ in funding, without following traditional VC paths.
• The business model is simple: develop eFuel facilities, sell them to investors, and scale up to 500 global plants.
• Culture and alignment were forged during COVID through distributed teamwork and shared mission.
• Claes believes clean tech success is a marathon, not a sprint—it takes much longer than expected, but the impact is massive.
• His message to aspiring founders: If the mission matters, the delays are worth it—just keep pedaling.

For more information, visit liquidwind.com or follow on LinkedIn. Go to liquidwind.com/contact to get in touch with the company!

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Keep in mind that storytelling is everything in fundraising. In this regard, for a winning pitch deck to help you, take a look at the template created by Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley legend (see it here), which I recently covered. Thiel was the first angel investor in Facebook with a $500K check that turned into more than $1 billion in cash. 

Remember to unlock for free the pitch deck template that founders worldwide are using to raise millions below.

 

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