{"id":123916,"date":"2023-03-14T07:29:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-14T06:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=123916"},"modified":"2023-03-14T08:17:02","modified_gmt":"2023-03-14T07:17:02","slug":"viridico2-secures-3m-in-seed-funding-to-make-chemical-products-from-co2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/viridico2-secures-3m-in-seed-funding-to-make-chemical-products-from-co2\/","title":{"rendered":"ViridiCO2\u2122 Secures \u00a33m in Seed Funding to make Chemical Products from CO2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>A spin-out from the University of Southampton, ViridiCO<sub>2<\/sub>\u2122\u2019s radical technology converts waste&nbsp;carbon dioxide that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere into high-value chemical products such as surfactants, plastics\/polymer feedstocks and small molecules<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>The innovative technology enables the chemicals industry to dramatically reduce its use of&nbsp;petrochemicals, significantly reduce costs, and create the first carbon-negative products for use in cosmetics, detergents and shampoos<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>ViridiCO<sub>2<\/sub>\u2122 is emblematic of how the UK\u2019s world class universities, supportive institutions, and entrepreneurial spirit can come together to create generational defining companies<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ViridiCO<sub>2<\/sub>\u2122, a spin-out from the School of Chemistry at the University of Southampton, has successfully closed a \u00a33m seed funding round led by EQT Ventures. ViridiCO<sub>2<\/sub>\u2122 delivers innovative, disruptive Carbon Capture Utilisation (CCU) technology that provides a radical and unique solution for the global chemicals industry to cut its CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;emissions and create new high-value chemical products from the captured CO<sub>2<\/sub>. The funding will accelerate the development and commercialisation of ViridiCO<sub>2<\/sub>\u2122\u2019s CCU technology, allowing the company to revolutionise how the world utilises waste CO<sub>2<\/sub>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The global chemicals industry is a high-polluting, 5 trillion dollar1 industry that currently has one feedstock \u2013 fossil fuel bases petrochemicals. To keep global warming in line with the Paris Agreement, emissions need to be reduced by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 20502. But the industry faces great challenges as, whilst emissions reduction is key, plastics and other petrochemical-based items are not going anywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ViridiCO<sub>2<\/sub>\u2122 has invented a radical solution with the creation of technology that converts waste carbon dioxide into high-value chemical products such as surfactants, polymer feedstocks and mall molecules. Through the doctorate studies of co-founder Dr. Daniel Stewart, ViridiCO<sub>2<\/sub>\u2122 uses a solid catalyst technology that can be retrofitted into existing chemical processes, allowing them to use CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;in place of petrochemicals. The ViridiCO<sub>2<\/sub>\u2122 technology activates CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;\u2013 which is otherwise very stable \u2013 captured from the chemical manufacturer\u2019s waste flue gas stream. This eliminates CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;emission to produce circular products which are sold to manufacturers who make consumer products, like washing detergent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not only does the use of the technology reduce petrochemical reliance through direct replacement with waste CO<sub>2<\/sub>, but it reduces the energy required to fuel the whole manufacturing process. At a time when the world, and especially Europe, faces unprecedented energy challenges, this is crucial as it ultimately leads to cheaper manufacturing costs (up to 30%), higher productivity and a far greener manufacturing process that actively reduces CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;emissions from an industry that contributes approximately 16%3 of global annual emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Conceived during founder Dr. Daniel Stewart\u2019s PhD research, the technology enables industry users to cut use of petrochemicals (sourced from fossil fuels) as feedstocks by 50% immediately, replacing them with CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;captured from the atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>Daniel Stewart Co-Founder and CEO, ViridiCO<sub>2<\/sub>\u2122, stated:<\/strong>&nbsp;\u201cThe foundation, formulation and chemicals industries are some of the world\u2019s greatest polluters and many have aims to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. ViridiCO<sub>2<\/sub>\u2122 is focused on assisting the chemicals industry to decarbonise by putting the 7 billion tonnes of industry waste CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;to good use, creating sustainable products, and a new income source.\u201d<\/p><p>\u201cThe use of our technology by the high emitting chemicals industry reduces the reliance on fossil-fuel petrochemical-based materials and valorises the waste CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;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 \u2013 our technology truly helps these heavy emitting manufacturers transition towards a circular economy, reduce scope 1, 2 &amp; 3 emissions and enable the first \u2018carbon-positive plastics\u2019 to hit the market.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Since spinning out from the University of Southampton in November 2021, ViridiCO<sub>2<\/sub>\u2122 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\u2019s site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The \u00a33 million seed financing will be used to accelerate the development and commercialisation of ViridiCO<sub>2<\/sub>\u2122\u2019s technology and will progress the technology to TRL 7, a system prototype demonstration stage in an operational environment, and then work with manufacturing partners to scale the solution in line with the market demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>Ali Mitchell, Partner, EQT Ventures, said:<\/strong>&nbsp;\u201cWe look to back generation defining companies and ViridCO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;is definitely one that has the potential to accelerate the energy transition of a whole industry. Daniel and his team have invented a revolutionary solution to convert waste CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;into high-value chemical products, plastics and essential items that are still needed in the world today. The tech enables the chemical industry to cut the use of petrochemicals \u2013 with a path to removing this feedstock completely \u2013 and reduce CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;emissions which is crucial to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, to save our planet from a climate catastrophe. The team has created a solution that is a true win-win for business and the world.<\/p><p>\u201cBeing a Southampton alumnus myself, it is great to see such a game-changing company with the technology and potential to transform the sector and the world spinning out of one of the UK\u2019s top universities. I look forward to supporting Daniel and his team accelerate the development and commercialisation of the tech and revolutionise the way the world utilises waste CO<sub>2<\/sub>.\u201d<\/p><p><strong>Emma Burke, Innovation Lead for Commercialisation at Innovate UK, said:<\/strong>&nbsp;\u201cThe UK is ideally positioned to lead the global development and deployment of CCU with its strong industrial sector, world-class universities, and favourable capital investment landscape to enable innovation and growth, making it one of the most attractive business environments for CCU technology. ViridiCO<sub>2<\/sub>\u2122 is a fantastic example of how a company supported by Innovate UK\u2019s ICURe programme, can grow, develop, and commercialise such critical technology enabling users to enhance their green credentials, save money and reduce their emissions.\u201d<\/p><p><strong>Gill Reid, President of the Royal Society of Chemistry &amp; Professor of Chemistry at the University of Southampton, said:<\/strong>&nbsp;\u201cDaniel and the team at ViridiCO<sub>2<\/sub>\u2122 have developed innovative technology that has the potential to deliver real solutions that can play a pivotal role in achieving net zero emission targets globally and drive forward the emissions reduction solutions for the chemicals industry. It is fantastic to see a homegrown university spin-out that was recognised as a winner of our prestigious 2020 Emerging Technologies Competition continue its journey to scale and become a successful UK business.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>[1]<\/sup>&nbsp;\u2013 The Business Research Company \u2013&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com\/report\/chemicals-global-market-report#:~:text=The%20global%20chemicals%20market%20grew\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com\/report\/chemicals-global-market-report#:~:text=The%20global%20chemicals%20market%20grew<\/a><br><sup>[2]<\/sup>&nbsp;\u2013 UN \u2013&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/en\/climatechange\/net-zero-coalition#:~:text=Currently%2C%20the%20Earth%20is%20already\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.un.org\/en\/climatechange\/net-zero-coalition#:~:text=Currently%2C%20the%20Earth%20is%20already<\/a><br><sup>[3]<\/sup>&nbsp;\u2013 Ourworldindata.org \u2013 Emissions by sector \u2013 Our World in Data \u2013&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/emissions-by-sector\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/emissions-by-sector<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A spin-out from the University of Southampton, ViridiCO2\u2122\u2019s radical technology converts waste&nbsp;carbon dioxide that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere into high-value chemical products such as surfactants, plastics\/polymer feedstocks and small molecules The innovative technology enables the chemicals industry to dramatically reduce its use of&nbsp;petrochemicals, significantly reduce costs, and create the first carbon-negative products [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"A spin-out from the University of Southampton's radical technology converts waste carbon dioxide into surfactants, plastics\/polymer feedstocks and small molecules","footnotes":""},"categories":[5571],"tags":[6843,10744,10416,10408,10743],"supplier":[8781,2549,18665],"class_list":["post-123916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-co2-based","tag-biochemicals","tag-carboncapture","tag-circulareconomy","tag-greenchemistry","tag-useco2","supplier-innovate-uk","supplier-southampton-university","supplier-viridico2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123916\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123916"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=123916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}