A concrete nanotech firm has secured £3m in venture capital investment to help it bring its green technology to a wider market.
Manchester’s Concretene has developed a graphene-enhanced concrete mixture that helps to reduce the carbon footprint of the building material. It has now secured backing from two investors – tech-specialist VC fund Molten Ventures has led the Seed+ investment round while European investor LocalGlobe, which put seed investment into Concretene in 2023 – has further committed itself to the project.
Concretene says the funding will help it to take the business through product certification and towards revenue generation. The company was founded by civil engineers Rob Hibberd and Alex McDermott, who worked with the University of Manchester’s Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre on their prototype product. It was the first tenant at Bruntwood SciTech’s innovation district ID Manchester, now known as Sister.
Concretene is already working with global cement giant Cemex and pre-cast manufacturer Roger Bullivant on pilot projects, supported by £1.2m from Innovate Ƶ, and are working with concrete specialists from Arup on an extensive material testing programme.
Mike Harrison, chief operating officer at Concretene said: “We’re delighted to welcome Molten Ventures to join with us and LocalGlobe on our mission to decarbonise concrete. We also want to thank LocalGlobe for their enthusiasm and support in getting Concretene off the ground.
“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.
“With the support of our funders and strategic partners Arup and Black Swan Graphene, we’re now well-placed to move forward rapidly to commercialisation.”
George Chalmers, head of climate at Molten Ventures said: “Concretene has made tremendous strides in getting its technology out of the lab and into meaningful real-world projects and applications. Its solution, viable today, is poised to make a meaningful impact in reducing emissions in one of the hardest to abate sectors. We are delighted to support Concretene's world-class team of scientists and operators in scaling its solution across the industry.”
Arup’s concrete materials lead Dr Fragkoulis Kanavaris said: ““Concretene’s recent bolstering of its technical team will strengthen its expertise in data analysis, nanomaterials in concrete and graphene formulations.
“The materials testing programme is a fantastic opportunity for Arup to support in its efforts to expedite the technology – we look forward to seeing Concretene progress from mixes and formulations towards standardisation.”
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