A Nottingham chemical manufacturing company which is a world leader in using high-specification advanced materials to tackle climate change has been boosted by £8million of new private investment.
Promethean Particles, based in Genesis Park, will use the funding to move to larger premises, increase its manufacturing capacity, recruit more staff and build larger demonstration prototypes to showcase to potential customers how its materials, called MOFs, work in real life applications.
The investment, led by Mercia Ventures and Aramco Ventures, is the culmination of Promethean’s Series A financing round, which was launched last year in a move which recognised that it had developed its technology to the stage where it was ready to generate commercial interest.
MOFs – which stands for metal-organic frameworks – are crystalline structures which, while tiny, have extremely large internal surface areas, with just one teaspoon of MOF granules having the equivalent surface area of two tennis courts.
It means they can be used to trap high quantities of gas and liquid molecules, including carbon dioxide (CO2), through adsorption, a process which involves creating a thin layer on another surface.
These properties enable MOFs to store and transport gases and liquids more cost-effectively, harvest water from the air or to remove CO2 from gas emissions made while burning fuels in industries including cement, chemicals, metals and power generation.
This technique has been tipped as an effective next-generation solution to reduce carbon emissions and help tackle climate change, but its take-up has been limited to this point by the chemical industry’s inability to manufacture MOFs on a large-enough scale or at a viable price point.
Promethean Particles is overcoming this challenge thanks to the creation of a proprietary continuous-flow reactor designed by its chief scientific officer, Professor Ed Lester.
James Stephenson, chief executive officer of Promethean, said: “The successful closing of our Series A funding round represents a significant milestone in the company’s growth journey, and we are delighted to welcome Mercia and Aramco Ventures to the Promethean team.
“We are extremely grateful for the trust they have placed in us and are excited by their recognition of our business potential and the impact we can have on the world.
“It is increasingly evident that a viable carbon capture solution is required to help mitigate the effects of climate change. MOFs show significant promise as a next generation solution and Promethean’s manufacturing technology enables their production at unprecedented scale and cost-effectiveness.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the Promethean team for all that they have accomplished to help make this investment a reality.”
Promethean currently employs 11 people and is trialling the use of MOFs for energy efficient carbon capture in an ongoing project that involves the power generation firm Drax, and in association with the University of Nottingham.
Dr Marina Fuentes, investment manager at Mercia Ventures, said, “Promethean Particles is uniquely positioned to capitalise on the fast-growing MOF market through their innovative manufacturing reactor technology, which addresses the historical bottlenecks of cost and scalability.
“We are thrilled to support a highly capable team and a cutting-edge technology that has been developed over 15 years and is now ripe for commercialisation at scale. We are also excited to partner with Aramco Ventures, whose strategic expertise will bring significant value to the Board.”
Bruce Niven, head of strategic venturing at Aramco Ventures, said “MOFs are an emerging class of materials with unique properties and wide-ranging applications including several in the energy transition domain.
“Promethean offers new capabilities to scale manufacturing of MOFs cost-effectively, which is a critical ingredient in unlocking the potential for these materials to gain widespread acceptance.”
