Cocoon, a startup aiming to address the climate emergency by decarbonising heavy industries and creating low-carbon construction materials, has raised £4.2m in pre-seed funding.
According to the World Economic Forum, the global floor area is projected to double by 2060, which is equivalent to building out New York City every month for the next 40 years.
Steel and concrete are essential for building new homes to meet the demands of rising urban populations. According to the World Economic Forum, the global floor area is projected to double by 2060, which is equivalent to building out New York City every month for the next 40 years.
However, these materials already contribute 14.5% of global CO2 emissions and generate mountains of landfilled waste.
Slag, a by-product of traditional steel manufacturing, has long been used to reduce the amount of cement that goes into concrete.
Demand for slag has grown as it functions as a green alternative to cement, which accounts for 90% of concrete production emissions.
However, as the steel industry shifts from using fossil fuel-burning blast furnaces to electric arc furnaces, the new e-slag from electric furnaces cannot be used as a cement substitute, leading to critical shortages of material that concrete manufacturers rely on to reduce their carbon footprint.
According to the United States Geological Survey, these shortages have increased the price per ton of slag in the US by 100% since 2017.
Cocoon hopes its patent-pending process will solve this problem.
Founded by Eliot Brooks, a former product manager, the company’s technology claims to take the by-product of steel produced by electrified furnaces and turn it into a “near-identical replacement” for blast furnace slag.
Brooks says the modular technology, which is the size of a shipping container unit, integrates into the end of existing steel-making processes without operational disruption, high capital expenditure, or safety compromises.
Targeting a 50% replacement of the cement in concrete, producers using Cocoon’s material can meaningfully reduce their emissions in the near term while the industry develops and standardises alternatives to cement, the CEO added.
The startup is conducting initial tests at a steel plant in northern England, followed by one in the US.
“We’re turning a by-product with little use into a valuable product that the market badly needs and can be easily integrated into existing supply chains,” said Brooks.
“By repairing a broken link in the circular economy, Cocoon provides steel makers with a new revenue stream while meeting the low-carbon material needs of the concrete industry.
“Connecting these two industries allows builders to construct critical infrastructure while reducing emissions; for every ton of Cocoon’s slag-based cementitious material used, one ton of CO2 can be avoided.”
Brooks hopes Cocoon’s climate technology will be integrated into a pilot plant by late 2025.