ViridiCO2, a spin-out from the School of Chemistry at the University of Southampton, has closed £3 million in a seed funding round led by Stockholm-founded VC EQT Ventures (also backed The Exploration Company).
The latest funding will help ViridiCO2 to accelerate the development and commercialisation of its CCU technology, allowing the company to revolutionise how the world utilises waste CO2.
Since spinning out from the University of Southampton in November 2021, ViridiCO2 has used funding from its Angel investors, many of which are Southampton alumni, along with grant funding from Innovate UK, to prove kilogram production capability and to validate it on a chemical manufacturer’s site.
The chemicals industry is a major source of pollution, valued at around 5 trillion dollars, and it heavily relies on petrochemicals from fossil fuels.
To meet the targets of the Paris Agreement and prevent excessive global warming, emissions from the industry need to be cut by 45% by 2030 and eliminated by 2050.
However, the industry faces significant obstacles as reducing emissions is crucial while still maintaining the use of plastic and other petrochemical-derived products.
Turning CO2 into chemical products
ViridiCO2 has developed an innovative solution by creating technology that can convert waste carbon dioxide into valuable chemical products such as surfactants, small molecules, and polymer feedstocks.
Co-founder Dr. Daniel Stewart’s doctoral research was instrumental in developing this technology, which employs a solid catalyst that can be integrated into existing chemical processes, enabling the use of CO2 instead of petrochemicals.
ViridiCO2’s technology transforms CO2, which is typically a very stable compound, extracted from chemical manufacturers’ waste flue gas stream.
As a result, the technology eliminates CO2 emissions and creates circular products, which are purchased by consumer product manufacturers, such as those that produce washing detergents.
Using the technology not only replaces petrochemical reliance with waste CO2 but also decreases the amount of energy needed to power the entire manufacturing process.
Daniel Stewart Co-Founder and CEO, of ViridiCO2, stated: “The foundation, formulation, and chemicals industries are some of the world’s greatest polluters and many have aimed to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. ViridiCO2 is focused on assisting the chemicals industry to decarbonise by putting the 7 billion tonnes of industry waste CO2 to good use, creating sustainable products, and a new income source.”
He continues, “The use of our technology by the high emitting chemicals industry reduces the reliance on fossil-fuel petrochemical-based materials and valorises the waste CO2 that would otherwise be realised into the atmosphere and further contributing to the climate crisis. In the face of climate change, businesses have realised that sustainability is the fulcrum of their corporate strategy, rather than an add-on – our technology truly helps these heavy emitting manufacturers transition towards a circular economy, reduce scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions and enable the first ‘carbon-positive plastics’ to hit the market.”
