At Vivatech (Paris), Carbon8, the UK clean technology company specializing in carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), announce the closure of a £5 million (€5.79m/US$6.19m) funding round.
Vicat, the international cement group, EDF Group and its corporate venture capital arm, EDF Pulse Ventures, have co-invested £4m (€4.69m) in the company.
Carbon8, originally a spin-out from the University of Greenwich (London), has developed and commercialized a technology to help hard-to-abate industrial sectors decarbonize, and shift these industries to a more circular operation by converting their residues into assets for commercial use.
Carbon8’s CCUS solution can help industries like cement, Energy from Waste, steel and paper, achieve their Net Zero targets; these industries are currently responsible for over 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon8’s patented ACT (Accelerated Carbonation Technology) process combines industrial residues with captured CO₂ emissions to produce high-value minerals. Through the deployment of its innovative CO₂ntainer, Carbon8’s process becomes a Plug ‘n Play solution, which is scalable and modular. The CO₂ntainer can be deployed directly to an industrial site, capturing carbon from the point source and permanently storing it in the output materials of the ACT process.
This form of permanent CO₂ capture and storage enables heavy industry to better manage their residues, addressing simultaneously their goals of zero landfill and Net Zero emissions.
The new materials manufactured in the process mean that these industries can also shift to a circular economy model, using the materials produced by ACT in a variety of sectors, including aggregates for construction use and and fertilisers. Carbon8 is also researching other potential uses.
John Pilkington, CEO of Carbon8 said: “Vicat Group and EDF Group share Carbon8’s vision of pioneering cleantech solutions for heavy industry and helping industry achieve their Net Zero ambitions. The investment made by EDF and Vicat is hugely valuable as we accelerate the growth of our business, and maximise the positive impacts - capturing carbon, re-using residues - that we can offer to industry. We are delighted to have the support of these two major companies, and the continued backing of our other investors.”
Vicat Group was Carbon8’s first commercial strategic customer in September 2020 when a CO₂ntainer was deployed at Vicat’s Montalieu-Vercieu cement plant, near Lyons in France. The CO₂ntainer helps boost growth in the use of alternative fuels in the cement-making process and uses captured CO2n to carbonate cement-plant dust by producing quality aggregates. Carbon8’s technology is likely to be rolled-out at other Vicat cement plants in France and internationally.
Laury Barnes-Davin, Scientific and R&D director of Vicat Group said: “Under our commitment to limiting our environmental impact, Vicat has looked at a number of innovative ideas for reducing its carbon emissions. We were drawn to Carbon8’s two-part technology: capturing the CO₂ that Montalieu emits, and using it to produce an aggregate that can be marketed in the construction industry. It opens up great potential for our operations not just in France but also in all the countries where we work across the globe.”
For EDF Pulse Ventures, the solution developed by Carbon8 enables EDF Group to support its industrial customers in their decarbonization strategy with a “CO₂ as a service” offer, finding new outlets for their residues.
Julien Villeret, Chief Innovation Officer (EDF Group) said: “The development of CO₂ sequestration is key to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The solution developed by Carbon8 enables our industrial customers to accelerate decarbonization rapidly while integrating themselves into a circular economy logic. This investment is fully consistent with the raison d’être of EDF Group, which aims to build a carbon neutral world.”
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