Carbon-to-Value company Econic Technologies has successfully closed the first round of its latest fund raise to support commercialisation of their CO2 utilisation technology.
27 April 2022 – Econic Technologies, deep-tech carbon-to-value pioneer, today announced that it has closed the first round of a multimillion capital raise. The investment will accelerate the company’s route to commercialisation as it responds to increasing customer demand for sustainable ways of using carbon dioxide (CO2) to replace oil derived components in household and industrial products.
The round was led by incoming investor, Capricorn Sustainable Chemistry Fund, with follow-on support from existing investor OGCI Climate Investments. They are backing the scale up of Econic’s catalyst and process technology that transforms waste CO2 into a valuable raw material for use in essential every-day products, reducing their carbon footprints by up to 30%.
The company will first incorporate CO2 into polyols – used in polyurethane products for mattresses, insulation, textiles, light-weighting vehicles, amongst many other applications including coatings and adhesives. In addition, Econic is developing CO2 based surfactant ingredients for use in cleaning, home and personal care, and industrial products. These applications currently use millions of tonnes of oil-based raw materials every year. Econic’s technology uses CO2 that would otherwise be emitted to the atmosphere or stored for generations to replace up to 50% of the oil-based component.
Both Capricorn Partners and OGCI have leading, dedicated funds that align very closely with Econic’s ambitions to help drive the world to net zero.
Keith Wiggins, CEO of Econic Technologies, commented: ‘We’re delighted to welcome Capricorn Partners, one of the leading investors in sustainable chemistry-based solutions. Their expertise, in collaboration with ongoing support from OGCI, will allow Econic to respond to growing customer demand for our technology and to create value from using captured CO2 in everyday products.’
Yvette Go, Investment Director at Capricorn Sustainable Chemistry Fund, commented: ‘Econic offer a fantastic and innovative chemical technology for the sustainable manufacture of polymers with reduced environmental impact. We’re so pleased to be coming on board to work with the team as they bring their product to market’.
Matthew Harwood, CSO at OGCI Climate Investments, commented: ‘We are very excited about the commercial interest we are seeing globally in Econic as consumer-facing companies seek to reduce the carbon footprint of their products. We’re looking forward to continuing to support them during this pivotal point in their commercial progress.’
About Econic Technologies (www.econic-technologies.com)
Econic Technologies is a UK based deep-tech company and pioneer in the utilisation of carbon dioxide (CO2) as a valuable raw material. It licenses and sells innovative catalyst and processes technology for the manufacture of CO2 containing polymers used in essential everyday products. The use of CO2 sustainably displaces conventional oil-based feedstocks and complements bio-based raw materials, to create more cost effective, higher performing, end products. Econic was founded in 2011 by Prof. Charlotte Williams, at Imperial College London. Building on her vision of technology that uses CO2 as a raw material in the manufacture of enhanced polymers systems, the company is ready to meet consumer and societal drive to net zero and fit with the existing supply chain. The recipient of many nominations and awards, the company was most recently named as winner in the Sustainability sector of ‘Future22’ by Tech Tour, Europe’s largest investor-oriented community.
The company operates globally from Alderley Park, near Manchester, UK and its state-of-the-art customer demonstration facility in Runcorn, UK.
About polyols and surfactants
Polyols are the building block for polyurethanes and are used in the production of flexible and rigid foams, elastomers, adhesives, sealants, and coatings. Industry sectors include: automotive, footwear & apparel (e.g. sports trainers), furniture (sofas, mattresses etc), appliances (e.g. fridges) and construction (insulation panels, coatings etc). The polyols market is valued at $28Bn and is growing.
Surfactants are used in a wide variety of high-volume household and industrial cleaning and personal care products, as well as in a range of high-value applications in the construction, paint and agricultural industries. The non-ionic surfactants market is valued at $20Bn and is growing.
About OGCI Climate Investments (www.ogci.com/climate-investments/)
OGCI Climate Investments was formed by the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative, a CEO-led initiative of oil & gas majors that accounts for around 30% of global operated production. OGCI aims to lead the industry’s response to climate change. At OGCI Climate Investments, we seek to accelerate the global implementation of low carbon solutions by collaborating with OGCI members, governments, customers, and co-investors. We have invested in 25 technologies and projects since 2017.
Among its investment-focused activities, CI currently manages a $1B+ fund, Catalyst Fund I, and is an investor in China Climate Investments. Both funds invest in solutions to decarbonize under-invested carbon-intensive sectors within energy, industrials, built environments/buildings and transportation. CI targets solutions that deliver near-term GHG impact in three areas: reducing methane, reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and recycling or storing carbon dioxide.
About Capricorn Partners (www.capricorn.be)
Capricorn Partners is an independent European manager of venture capital and equity funds, investing in innovative European companies with technology as competitive advantage. The investment team of Capricorn is composed of experienced investment managers with deep technology expertise and a broad industrial experience. Capricorn Partners is managing the venture capital funds Capricorn Sustainable Chemistry Fund, Capricorn Digital Growth Fund, Capricorn ICT Arkiv, Capricorn Health‐tech Fund, Capricorn Cleantech Fund and Capricorn Fusion China Fund. In addition, it is the management company of Quest for Growth, quoted on Euronext Brussels, and the investment manager of Quest Cleantech Fund and Quest+, sub-funds of Quest Management SICAV, registered in Luxembourg.
