The exited founder behind Blueprint and Relo has raised £25 million for his latest venture – synthetic fuel firm Rivan.
Harvey Hodd (pictured) previously founded SMS marketing firm Blueprint, acquired by Klaviyo in 2022, and predictive repeat revenue eCommerce platform Relo, acquired by Relay Commerce in 2024-25.
The Series A round into Rivan was led by IQ Capital. Previous investor Plural participated, with new investor Fundomo and angels including Thomas Wolf (Hugging Face), Matt Clifford (Entrepreneur First) and Markus Villig (Bolt) joining, bringing the total raised to $46m.
The new funding will support the deployment of Europe’s largest synthetic natural gas (SNG) plant, the opening of a new 50,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in London and more than double the team to 100 people.
Natural gas remains essential to Europe’s economy, from powering heavy industry to generating electricity and heating millions of homes. Yet the UK and Europe remain heavily dependent on imported fuel – 42% for the UK and 85% for Europe. This leaves the region exposed to supply shocks and increasing global competition for liquefied natural gas.
Energy prices surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and remain highly sensitive to disruption. The recent war in Iran and threats to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have caused oil and gas prices to climb roughly 55–60% on average since February, driving volatility and underscoring the continued risks of relying on foreign fuel supplies.
Rivan was founded to address this challenge by producing synthetic fuels for industries that cannot be electrified. Its technology enables the domestic production of synthetic fuels in Europe at country-scale and at fossil-fuel prices.
Rivan has assembled an elite team of 30+ electrical, chemical, and mechanical engineers working from its HQ in London and is now hiring for further roles to accelerate its timelines. This team has enabled the company to vertically integrate the entire synthetic fuel production at scale, demonstrated by a 1MW plant in Wiltshire, currently the largest of its kind in the UK.
Since its seed round last year, the company has moved from pilot-scale systems to a fully operational plant, having tripled its customer contracts, reflecting the growing demand for domestically produced fuel.
The company’s technology vertically integrates every step of producing SNG, from renewable energy, all the way through to gas grid injection. Rivan’s system uses solar energy to produce green hydrogen from electrolysis, captures CO2 from the air via direct air capture (DAC) and converts both into carbon-neutral natural gas via a reactor. The resulting SNG is chemically identical to natural gas and can be injected directly into existing pipelines and storage infrastructure, allowing the system to scale using existing infrastructure, without requiring the major structural changes needed by alternatives, such as hydrogen.
Render of Rivan’s new London manufacturing facility
Rivan designs and manufactures its systems in-house in the UK, allowing it to optimise performance, reduce costs and scale deployment more quickly. This integrated approach underpins the commercial viability of its systems today, with synthetic fuels expected to reach cost parity with fossil gas as the platform scales.
“We started Rivan to create a large-scale domestic supply of synthetic fuels, removing the price, supply and emissions risk crippling Europe today,” said Hodd.
“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.
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.”
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.”