Concrete4Change raises £2.5 million to permanently lock away CO2 in concrete 

Nottingham-based startup secures investment from Zacua Ventures and Counteract to scale its breakthrough process of mineralising CO2 in concrete for permanent sequestration.

23 January, Nottingham, UK: Concrete4Change (C4C), an advanced materials company that permanently captures and utilises CO2 by mineralising it in concrete, has raised £2.5 million in seed funding. The round was led by Zacua Ventures, an early-stage venture fund focused on the built environment and Counteract, a carbon removals focused venture fund, with participation from the family office of Goldbeck. This brings the total investment raised to date to £4.5m including £1.5 million in grant funding. C4C will use the investment to scale its technology from the lab environment to pilot projects with strategic investors that include some of the world’s leading concrete manufacturers, Goldbeck and Siam Cement Group.

Founded by Dr. Sid Pourfalah, Dr. Michael Wise and Dalraj Nijjar, C4C has developed a novel proprietary technology that permanently captures CO2 and mineralises it in concrete. CO2 is captured by C4C’s carrier material, and the loaded material is mixed in fresh concrete as an additive. The CO2 in the concrete undergoes a chemical reaction and is permanently mineralised. The result is concrete that is not only 20% stronger but becomes a CO2 sink that prevents any leak, even after demolition of the concrete.

Approximately four billion tonnes of cement is produced annually which creates three billion tonnes of CO2 per year, equating to 8% of global CO2 emissions. C4C plans to create localised supply chains by taking advantage of low-cost waste streams such as the CO2 emitted at cement production sites. C4C’s technology for CO2 mineralisation is completely novel in the market – using a carrier material medium to transfer CO2 into concrete with the aim of making it stronger and greener as a result. It is applicable to all types of cement and concrete including pre-cast and ready-mix concrete and can be easily incorporated into existing supply chains.

Dalraj Nijjar, Co-founder & Chief Commercial Officer, Concrete4Change, said:

“Concrete4Change’s technology offers a viable route to turn an emission problem into an emission solution and set in stone a path for the construction industry to achieve net-zero concrete. This fresh injection of funding from specialist investors with deep sector expertise means we can now go from successful demonstrations in the lab and small-scale trials to real-world pilot projects.”

Prof. Sid Pourfalah, Founder & CEO, Concrete4Change, said:

“Concrete can naturally absorb a small amount of CO2 in its lifetime, but its full potential can never be reached in nature. The concrete industry needs scalable, long-term solutions, and this is where Concrete4Change comes in with our novel and easy-to-adopt approach. We are the first company in the world to create a technology that harnesses chemistry to efficiently mineralise CO2 and enhances the properties of concrete while enabling it to become the safest form of CO2 sink in the world. The cement and concrete industry are struggling to use the CO2 they produce and we want to convert their CO2 emissions into concrete.”

Commenting on the investment, Juan Nieto, General Partner, Zacua Ventures and former investor at Cemex Ventures added:

““When we first met the C4C crew, we just clicked – their team brings the right skills to the table, turning their breakthrough mineralisation tech into a real game-changer. C4C’s approach has major potential to green up concrete without altering its existing production process, capitalising on the established supply chains. And here’s the kicker – no extra cost for going green, plus it’s already playing nice with regulations, it’s a total win-win for everyone on board. We are particularly enthused by its commendable brief time-to-market, which markedly surpasses alternatives we have encountered elsewhere.” 

Richard Barker, Partner, Counteract, added:

“We really like C4C’s innovative solution for decarbonising cement. The utilisation of a carrier that contains captured CO2 creates a potential drop in solution for a long-standing industry with well-established supply chains. The solution is also complementary with a range of the industry’s other decarbonising pathways currently in development. We also love the C4C team and have been impressed by their deep domain knowledge and tenacious approach to developing the business. ”