O.C.O Technology's King’s Award for Enterprise milestone celebration

16 May, 2025

O.C.O Technology’s Wretham carbon-negative aggregates manufacturing facility in Norfolk

First published in the May 2025 issue of Quarry Management as Standard Bearers

Carbon-negative aggregate producers O.C.O Technology recently welcomed the Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk to their Wretham plant as part of the company’s King’s Award for Enterprise milestone celebration

When carbon-capture specialists O.C.O Technology were honoured with the King’s Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development in May last year, it was a pivotal moment for the company, as it cemented its position and reputation as the clear UK market leader in carbon mineralization.

To celebrate the major milestone, O.C.O recently held a special event at their Wretham aggregates facility in Thetford, Norfolk, on 13 March. Approximately 120 distinguished guests, including representatives from local councils, business leaders, and customers/partners from as far away as Japan, Spain, Italy, and the US, were invited to join the celebrations.

O.C.O are at the forefront of providing cutting-edge sustainable solutions to the construction sector with their pioneering accelerated carbonation technology (ACT), which treats air pollution control residues (APCr) – primarily from energy-from-waste (EfW) facilities – using carbon dioxide gas.

The ACT process converts waste material into an artificial aggregate known as Manufactured Limestone (M-LS). Since more CO2 is permanently captured than is utilized in the standard manufacturing process, O.C.O’s M-LS has been acknowledged as the ‘world’s first carbon-negative aggregate’.

The recent celebratory event at O.C.O’s £10 million Wretham production facility provided an ideal platform to reflect on the business’s remarkable journey and showcase its commitment to excellence, innovation, and sustainability.

Lady Dannatt, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk, presenting the King’s Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development 2024, to Steve Greig, group chief executive officer of O.C.O Technology

To commemorate the occasion, O.C.O welcomed The Lady Dannatt, MBE, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk, to the special event, following the company’s success in receiving the King’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development 2024. As HM The King’s representative, Lady Dannatt presented O.C.O group chief executive officer, Steve Greig, with the prestigious award, which consisted of a Grant of Appointment and an engraved glass plaque bearing the Royal seal of approval emblem.

Commenting on her visit, Lady Dannatt said: ‘I am absolutely delighted to be here for this very special presentation of the King’s Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development 2024. The handover of industry awards on behalf of His Majesty is always a delightful duty, and I have been given the most phenomenal tour, probably one of the most interesting I have been on.

‘The award is clearly very well deserved. These awards have become the most prestigious recognition a company can receive and are proof that UK businesses are increasingly visionary in leading the world in the development of new environmentally sustainable practices. Huge congratulations to O.C.O Technology.’

Assisting Lady Dannatt was Deputy Lieutenant, Lieutenant Colonel Ian Lonsdale TD, who officially presented the Grant of Appointment, signed by His Majesty the King.

Lady Dannatt taking a closer look at O.C.O’s pioneering carbon-negative aggregate

Before the presentation, Lady Dannatt enjoyed a tour of O.C.O’s Wretham manufacturing facility, first visiting the test laboratory to see how the ash blends are mixed before viewing the manufacturing lines and talking to the team to understand more about the production processes. The tour ended with an overview of the different-sized aggregates ready for delivery to the construction sector.

The Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk remarked: ‘I found the tour very surprising and deeply impressive. I am not a scientist, but the concept was quite extraordinary and the fact the aggregate is carbon-negative is phenomenal. I am very proud that here in Norfolk we have such cutting-edge technology solutions.’

Indeed, O.C.O utilize innovative carbon capture technology to treat various waste materials, turning them into carbon-negative aggregates for use in the construction industry. The carbon captured within the process also allows the company to offer its verified carbon removal scheme.

During the King’s Award for Enterprise presentation, as a token of appreciation, Steve Greig presented Lady Dannatt with a certificate confirming it had retired a carbon credit in her name – representing the verified removal of one tonne of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This represents 431 average UK car journeys and is equivalent to the amount of CO2 absorbed by 45 trees annually.

Mr Greig, who was joined by his fellow directors and employees for the ceremony, commented: ‘We were honoured to welcome Lady Dannatt to our facility and to have the opportunity to share insight into our groundbreaking work. The fact we could assure Lady Dannatt that her attendance was genuinely carbon-negative made the occasion even more special and was a perfect way to demonstrate the benefits of our high-quality carbon credits.

‘Receiving our King’s Award has been an absolute pinnacle of our success, and it is undoubtedly my proudest achievement as chief executive officer of the company. Not only has it underlined our commitment to carbon capture and sustainability, but we are now able to fly the flag for UK technology around the world in an even bigger and better way than we did before.’

He continued: ‘We are very optimistic about the huge potential of what our carbon-negative aggregates can offer in sustainable construction and the road to net zero. I am confident that, with the substantial investment and much-needed improvements made at Wretham, we will be able to drive the business forward in both the UK and overseas markets, as we look to expand our carbon-capture technology globally and build a sustainable future with potential new partners.’

When the King’s Awards for Enterprise were announced last May, O.C.O were one of 28 organizations nationwide to be named as a recipient in the Sustainable Development category. The aggregates firm was commended for adding value to stakeholders’ environmental performance (through carbon reductions and waste avoided), while its research and development programme was highlighted for fostering innovation in new product applications, such as asphalt and concrete.

Continuing to promote the benefits of carbon-negative aggregates, O.C.O are now looking to expand the use of their pioneering ACT process into other waste material markets worldwide, with a major focus on the permanent capture of CO2 and supporting organizations in their efforts to reduce carbon emissions. The company is currently working in partnership with businesses outside the UK, with new state-of-the-art carbon-negative plants being earmarked for development in Spain, Japan, Australia, and North America.

O.C.O’s Dr Peter Gunning carrying out trials at the company’s R&D laboratory

Closer to home, O.C.O have invested substantially in improving their UK operation – boosting production output, further enhancing sustainability, and securing the future of the business for decades to come. An additional £5 million expansion programme, for instance, will see a third production line at the company’s Wretham facility opening later this year, allowing the site to produce up to 350,000 tonnes of carbon-negative aggregates annually.

Ultimately, this will provide O.C.O with the much-needed capacity to produce 1 million tonnes of Manufactured LimeStone (M-LS) aggregates annually for the UK construction materials market, starting in 2026.