Carbon neutral cement firm ready to build on funding success

UK-based startup Novacem announced last week that it has raised £1m in new funding as it seeks to commercialise its carbon absorbing technique for manufacturing cement – a breakthrough that the company claimed could result in a negative carbon footprint for one of the world's most carbon intensive industries.

Currently, the annual production of more than 2.5 billion tonnes of Portland cement is responsible for five per cent of global CO2 emissions, and the sector's carbon footprint is expected to grow with demand for cement volumes expected to double by 2050.

However, Novacem claims that unlike Portland cement, each tonne of cement it produces absorbs three quarters of a tonne more CO2 over its life cycle than it emits.

The company said that its manufacturing process, which was developed based on research undertaken by the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Imperial College London, utilises magnesium oxide and special mineral additives that work at lower temperatures than normal cement and ensure that it absorbs atmospheric CO2 as the cement hardens.

Stuart Evans, chairman of Novacem, said that the new investors would help the company expand its research team as it seeks to commercialise the product.

"We are assembling a world-class team and these funds will help us grow the team, complete an initial pilot plant before the end of 2009 and accelerate development and commercialisation," he said.

The new funding round includes Imperial Innovations Group, the commercial and investment arm of Imperial College, as well as the London Technology Fund and the Royal Society Enterprise Fund.

Dr Andrew Mackintosh, chief executive of the Royal Society Enterprise Fund, praised Novacem as an example of the type of clean tech firm that desperately requires greater backing from the investor community.

"It is based on outstanding science, has enormous potential commercial opportunities but is nevertheless high risk," he observed. "If we are serious about using the challenge of climate change to create new businesses in the UK, then we have to invest in and encourage companies like Novacem and give them a realistic chance to deliver."