Northern Gritstone has invested in C-Capture, the designer of chemical processes for carbon dioxide (CO2) removal, as part of a funding round of up to £10 million alongside existing investors bp Ventures, Drax and Kiko Ventures, with the potential for additional investors to follow.
Based in Leeds, C-Capture was formed in 2009 as a spin-out from the School of Chemistry at the University of Leeds with initial funding from IP Group. The company has since won backing from private investors and from the UK Government to develop its carbon capture technology, which can prevent CO2 emissions from industrial processes from entering the atmosphere.
C-Capture’s next-generation solvent technology offers a sustainable solution to decarbonisation, using up to 40% less energy than currently available approaches. It is extremely robust and suitable for use even within hard-to-abate industries. C-Capture uses new, proprietary solvents to remove carbon dioxide emissions at source, offering a safer, more efficient, and more cost-effective alternative to current technologies based on traditional chemistries.
Making carbon dioxide removal more economically viable from a wider range of large-scale processes, such as power generation from coal, gas and biomass, and the production of cement, steel, and aluminium is central to C-Capture’s vision. It offers these industries a route to decarbonisation and has already delivered around 20 feasibility studies with end customers across a wide range of sectors and use cases.
The latest investment will support C-Capture’s technology commercialisation strategy, which includes further testing of its one-tonne-per-day, fully-integrated carbon removal pilot plant that is currently operating at Drax power station in Yorkshire. The funding will also be used to scale up C-Capture’s technology through the delivery of a commercial demonstration plant which will capture around 100-200 tonnes of carbon dioxide per day.
The investment comes shortly after the UK government announced £20bn of funding to support four carbon capture clusters that will support thousands of jobs across the UK.
Tom White, CEO of C-Capture, said: “There has never been a more critical time to take action – decisive action – against climate change than right now. This investment brings us one step closer to realising our mission of mitigating climate change by allowing our team to focus on scaling our technology.
“From our first meeting with Duncan and his team, we knew that our priorities and values are very much aligned so we’re very pleased to welcome Northern Gritstone as an investor. With their expertise in backing visionary companies in the North of England, I see a very bright future ahead of us.”
Duncan Johnson, CEO of Northern Gritstone, added: “Carbon capture is critical for the energy transition and C-Capture’s unique technology has the potential to be applied at scale around the world as part of the global drive to tackle climate change. The company is a testament to how the world-leading science in the North of England could shape the world for the better.”
C-Capture was among the tech unicorns and future unicorns of the “Northern Triangle” cited by then-Digital Minister Chris Philp at 2022’s Digital City conference, while shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves (pictured, left) dropped by the firms Leeds HQ for a visit last week.
