Concrete used for buildings and infrastructure has the potential to become a large global ‘sink’ for carbon dioxide if technology developed by one British based SME is adopted at scale.

Vateris (formerly known as Concrete 4 Change) has developed a process of extracting carbon from industrial flue gas coming from a chimney, and turning it into calcium carbonate, or ‘vaterite’.

This mineral can then be used to replace around 30% of cement used in the production of concrete to enhance the material’s strength.

The company has received support from material suppliers including Holcim and Goldbeck, and aims to build several plants to capture and convert flue gas from their industrial applications for use as cement replacement materials.

This year, Vateris plans to produce around one tonne of calcium carbonate in a trial, and aims to generate 300 tonnes next year, and scale to 30,000 tonnes in 2028.

Its investment of £2.5 million was secured this spring from a consortium of industrial partners, and brings the total funding secured up to £7 million. A new funding round is being sought to raise £15 million to build a portable demonstration plant to de-risk the carbon capture technology.

Connected Places Catapult supported Vateris through an Advanced Construction Accelerator in 2021, and invited the company to an investor day held at the Shard in London the following year to showcase its technology.

Thanks to an introduction from the Catapult, the former head of investment and innovation for materials specialist Ibstock got talking to Vateris, and has now been recruited as the firm’s chief commercial officer.

“The most meaningful role that Connected Places Catapult played was in connecting us to others and introducing people through its accelerator programme. It also teamed us up with an investor which provided finance to us.”

Sid Pourfalah, Chief Executive, Vateris

Strengthening its offer

Vateris was founded five years ago and worked alongside Warwick University to develop a proof of concept of the carbon capture system. The company engaged with Connected Places Catapult shortly after, and has so far raised around £7 million of investment from concrete suppliers keen to become early adopters of the technology.

In the beginning, the company’s focus was sequestering carbon dioxide emissions to produce a cement alternative for concrete. It has since identified further sources of material to process for construction applications, including waste gypsum, and now employs 17 staff.

Two years ago, the company was shortlisted for the Earthshot Prize led by The Prince of Wales, which recognises innovations that promise to reduce global emissions. The company has also secured multiple accolades for its innovative work to reduce climate impact, including the COP26 Climate Challenge Cup in 2021 and the UK Business Angels Association ‘Hard Tech Investment of the Year’ award in 2023.

“Using vaterite can make concrete significantly cleaner, because it helps to reduce the volume of cement required – and cuts emissions and costs by around 30%,” says Sid. “The product we have is fairly well developed, and we are in a position now to make it at scale.

“We take waste material which is almost worthless and transfer it into extremely valuable, carbon negative products worth more than the materials it replaces.

“Now we are getting ready to build our demonstration plant, and working with Holcim to invest £40 million in a plant in their facility in the south of Germany to take CO2 and mined gypsum and give them vaterite to mix with cement.”

Sid is confident that the market opportunity for vaterite (carbon sequestered cement replacement) is significant, and predicts that his firm will exceed £100 million turnover within five years.

“This project is hard work, and progress will not happen very fast; especially now that construction market is much more price-sensitive compared to a few years ago,” he adds. “I am proud that we are one of the pioneers of capturing carbon dioxide for use in materials; using it in a different way, and making something valuable out of that.

“The process helps to tackle global warming, and we are helping to improve the lives that our children are going to live.”

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