Manchester’s Concretene bags €3.5M to decarbonise concrete

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Vishal Singh

By

Vishal Singh

|

October 14, 2024

|

Last update:

October 14, 2024

Manchester-based Concretene, a nanomaterial technology company, has raised £3M (approximately €3.58M) in venture capital to launch its carbon-saving concrete admixture.

The round was led by Molten Ventures, a tech-focused VC fund, with additional support from LocalGlobe, which previously invested in Concretene to help build its core team in 2023. The company’s goal is to reduce carbon emissions in the concrete industry.

George Chalmers, Head of Climate at Molten Ventures, says, “Concretene has made tremendous strides in getting its technology out of the lab and into meaningful real-world projects and applications. Its solution, viable today, is poised to make a meaningful impact in reducing emissions in one of the hardest-to-abate sectors.”

“We are delighted to support Concretene’s world-class team of scientists and operators in scaling its solution across the industry.”

Concretene, founded by civil engineers Rob Hibberd and Alex McDermott, developed a prototype formulation in collaboration with The University of Manchester’s Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC).

According to the company, the prototype achieved a 25-30 per cent increase in compressive strength in lab tests and an average of 17 per cent in field trials, allowing for a potential 10-15 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions from concrete, depending on the application.

To prepare for the commercial launch, the founders built an experienced team, including Dr. Craig Dawson, a former GEIC scientist and co-inventor of Concretene.

The company is focusing on sustainable feedstocks for its ‘Gen 2’ product, which incorporates graphene materials derived from energy industry waste streams.

Concretene is the first tenant in Manchester’s new innovation district, which is being developed by Bruntwood SciTech on the former north campus of the University. The £1.7B project, now branded as ‘Sister’, was officially launched on September 27 by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

Concretene is a graphene-enhanced liquid admixture that reduces the carbon footprint of concrete by improving its mechanical performance, allowing for less cement and overall volume. It can be added at batching plants without needing additional training or equipment.

Graphene helps improve the chemical structure of concrete as it cures, which makes the final product stronger in both compression and bending. This allows for a reduction in cement use—responsible for about 85 per cent of the CO2 emissions linked to concrete—while still keeping the same or even better strength needed for various uses, such as pre-cast, ready-mix, and high-performance concrete.

Graphene also accelerates curing times, potentially lowering project costs and durations, and improves the pore structure for better durability against water and salts. Ongoing research aims to confirm and standardise these benefits of faster curing and increased durability.

The funds will support the development of Concretene’s product, a graphene-enhanced admixture that lowers the carbon footprint of concrete. The funding aims to help the company achieve product certification and increase its revenue.

Mike Harrison, Chief Operating Officer at Concretene, says, “We’re delighted to welcome Molten Ventures to join with us and LocalGlobe on our mission to decarbonise concrete. We also want to thank LocalGlobe for their enthusiasm and support in getting Concretene off the ground.”

“Our team in Manchester has a unique combination of expertise and experience across construction and nanomaterial science, which will enable us to deliver our next stage of development and earn industry confidence and certification.”

“With the support of our funders and strategic partners Arup and Black Swan Graphene, we’re now well-placed to move forward rapidly to commercialisation.”

Concretene is working with Roger Bullivant, a UK pre-cast manufacturer, and Cemex, a global cement giant, to develop low-carbon CEM II/III cement formulations. This project is backed by £1.2M in grant funding from Innovate UK, which Concretene secured in 2023.

The company is also collaborating with concrete specialists from Arup to conduct a thorough material testing programme. This initiative aims to create a detailed dataset that will support the performance evaluation and accreditation of Concretene as a concrete admixture.

Arup’s concrete materials lead, Dr Fragkoulis Kanavaris, says, “We’ve seen the strengthening of Concretene’s technical team on data analysis, nanomaterials in concrete and graphene formulations. As a result, we’re increasingly confident in Concretene’s ability to expedite the technology and we’re now working in close collaboration on consistency of mixes and formulations towards standardisation.”

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Vishal Singh is a News Reporter and Social Media Marketing Lead at Silicon Canals. He covers developments in the European startup ecosystem and oversees the publication's social media presence. Before joining Silicon Canals, Vishal gained experience at the Indian digital media outlet Inc42, contributing to its growth with insightful content. Despite being a college dropout, his passion for writing has driven his career in journalism.

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