Concrete4Change, a Nottingham-based startup that captures and mineralises CO2 to develop sustainable concrete, has raised £2.5m.
The startup is looking to drastically cut the levels of carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere by trapping it in concrete, which is in turn made stronger.
The startup does this by capturing CO2 from the atmosphere with its carrier material, which is then mixed in fresh concrete as an additive.
According to the company, the process mineralises the CO2, producing concrete that is 20% stronger while preventing additional carbon leaks.
“Concrete4Change’s technology offers a viable route to turn an emission problem into an emission solution and set in stone a path for the construction industry to achieve net-zero concrete,” said Concrete4Change co-founder Dalraj Nijjar.
Fellow co-founder and Concrete4Change CEO Prof Sid Pourfalah said that while concrete can absorb a “small amount of CO2” naturally in its lifetime, its “full potential can never be reached in nature”.
Pourfalah said: “The concrete industry needs scalable, long-term solutions, and this is where Concrete4Change comes in with our novel and easy-to-adopt approach.
“We are the first company in the world to create a technology that harnesses chemistry to efficiently mineralise CO2 and enhances the properties of concrete while enabling it to become the safest form of CO2 sink in the world.”
The funding round was led by Zacua Ventures with participation from the family office of Golbeck.
Juan Nieto, general partner at Zacua Ventures, said the startup has “major potential to green up concrete without altering its existing production process, capitalising on the established supply chains”.
The new round brings the total funding raised by the company to £4.5m, including £1.5m in grant funding.