Manchester-based nanomaterial technology firm Concretene has secured £3 million to advance the development of its revolutionary concrete admixture, which uses nanomaterial technology to reduce the carbon footprint of the construction industry. The investment round was led by Molten Ventures, with participation from LocalGlobe.
- Founded in 2020 by Rob Hibberd and Alex McDermott, Concretene develops a concrete admixture that uses nanomaterial technology to reduce the construction industry’s carbon footprint.
- The startup is reformulating its product using sustainable raw materials, including graphene nanoplatelets from waste graphite and methane from biogas, aiming for a 30% improvement in performance while decreasing embodied carbon.
- Concretene is partnering with Roger Bullivant and Cemex to develop low-carbon CEM II/III cements, backed by £1.2 million from Innovate UK. Testing with Arup indicates that its admixture can enhance compressive strength by up to 30% in labs and 17% in the field, potentially cutting concrete CO2 emissions by 10-15%.
Details of the deal
- Molten Ventures leads the round, supporting tech startups with investments of €5 million to €20 million at Series A to growth equity stages, with London-based VC LocalGlobe also joining the round.
“Concretene has made tremendous strides in getting its technology out of the lab and into meaningful real-world projects and applications. We are delighted to support Concretene's world-class team of scientists and operators in scaling its solution across the industry," Head of Climate at Molten Ventures, George Chalmers, stated.
- Concretene will use the £3 million funding to advance its graphene-enhanced admixture aimed at decarbonizing the concrete industry, focusing on product certification and revenue growth.
“We’re delighted to welcome Molten Ventures to join with us and LocalGlobe on our mission to decarbonise concrete. Our team in Manchester has a unique combination of expertise and experience across construction and nanomaterial science, which will enable us to deliver our next stage of development and earn industry confidence and certification," Chief Operating Officer at Concretene, Mike Harrison, commented.
