Carbon8 secure £5 million investment

Funding round led by EDF and Vicat to accelerate industrial deployment of CCUS technology

CARBON8, the UK clean technology company specializing in carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), have announced the closure of a £5 million (€5.8 million) funding round led by Vicat, the international cement group, and EDF Group and its corporate venture capital arm, EDF Pulse Ventures, who have co-invested £4 million (€4.7 million) in the company.

Carbon8’s CCUS solution can help industries such as cement, energy-from-waste, steel, and paper etc, achieve their Net Zero targets; these industries are currently responsible for more than 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 allows heavy industries 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 fertilizers. Carbon8 are also researching other potential uses.

John Pilkington, chief executive officer 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 maximize the positive impacts – capturing carbon, reusing 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 were 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 CO2 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 have looked at several innovative ideas for reducing their 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 allows EDF Group to support their industrial customers in their decarbonization strategy with a ‘CO2 as a service’ offer, finding new outlets for their residues.

Julien Villeret, chief innovation officer at 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.’