ViridiCO2
ViridiCO2 is revolutionising the sustainability of chemical manufacturing processes by deriving products from carbon dioxide (CO2) feedstocks to close the carbon loop. Its innovative technology is able to directly replace fossil fuels used in the chemical manufacturing process with repurposed CO2. By using waste CO2 in this way, it not only reduces emissions and fossil fuel reliance, it also serves as a CO2 utilisation strategy, rather than just a storage solution.
The £3 million investment has impacted the company’s sustainability goals because sustainability is at the core of the technology, and it has enabled ViridCO2 to deliver it faster. The investor has a track record in delivering sustainable technologies and deep tech technologies, and it is a key driver to invest in the technology.
Socially, an aspect of what ViridiCO2 does is to educate the public on what it takes to make consumer products, and how solving the CO2 issue is one aspect, but individuals can play a role by making informed decisions around purchasing.
The customers of ViridiCO2’s clients are demanding more sustainable products, hence the interest in its technology. ViridiCO2 are very careful to be as sustainable as possible throughout the whole lifecycle and making informed decisions on suppliers.
2020
Start Date
Southampton
Location
15
Employees
£300k
Grants
£3.5m
Equity
The Journey
“During my PhD I focused on the design and manipulation of catalysts for chemical processes to make them more sustainable. Once it became clear this process had potential for commercial value, we applied for a patent in 2019. I knew I needed to create a company, but I really had no idea what I was doing.”
“Coming out of Innovate UK ICURe we had a full business model and the validation of a vast network of people who wanted our product. The programme gave us an understanding of what we could provide and how we would provide it. Through the market validation phase we found that our CO2 utilisation technology is desperately needed. What we’re doing with ViridiCO2 will not only save manufactures millions of pounds but will also be a much more environmentally friendly solution.”
“Our target customers are chemical manufacturers. The chemical industry is one of the largest emitters of CO2 in the world. Our platform is poised to utilise waste CO2 that they generate and re-purpose it back into their own products, so it produces a circular economy. ICURe helped us identify our early adopter target market. I was also able to have meaningful conversations with all the biggest chemical manufacturers in the world. We met our leading client through the ICURe programme, a global multinational billion dollar company. We have developed this relationship and now we’re at the point of securing a pilot project with them.”
“In 2022 we completed our Innovate UK project on scaling the technology and putting it into some early adopters for validation. We went in wanting to prove that we could get one customer, and we actually got three customers. We validated it on site, and we’ve made a kilogram of our technology.”
“We successfully closed our £3 million seed funding round with EQT ventures to accelerate the development and commercialisation of our technology and to put it into pilot scale within the early adopters that we’ve identified.”
Daniel Stewart, Co-founder, ViridiCO2
Contact Form
Patent application submitted
Won Royal Society of Chemistry Emerging Technology (Energy & Environment Category) Competition 2020
Incorporated company
Made first sale
Closed £3m Seed Funding round to make chemical products from CO2
Co-founder, Dan Stewart named in Forbes List of 30 under 30 2023 (Manufacturing and industry)
Team move into their own lab at the University of Southampton
First Commercial Director hired, taking the total number of employees to 15
What companies had to say about the Innovate UK ICURe programme?
“I was thrilled to be accepted onto the ICURe programme. It far exceeded my expectations and gave me the time and opportunity to give the business my 100% focus. It has been invaluable, what we learned on the programme has become the foundation for everything we do now.”
Daniel Stewart
Co-founder, ViridiCO2
Future Goals
ViridCO2 are busy now with commercial opportunities, with customers coming to the company directly. It has just doubled its team, including the hire of the companies first Commercial Director. ViridiCO2 moved into new lab space at the University of Southampton in May 2023 and anticipates moving into the adjoining offices shortly, giving it further space to expand.
Having built good relationships with customers the next step is to deliver into early adopter clients and build revenue streams. The company will then look ahead to prepare for a significant Series A raise in 2025 to really scale up to the large size needed.