The Clean Growth Fund and Barclays have invested £4.4 million in Belfast carbon capture company MOF Technologies (MOF Tech) along with an existing investor.
A spin-out from Queen’s University Belfast, MOF Tech has developed a carbon capture solution to reduce emissions from cement works, steel works or energy-from-waste plants. The solution uses a class of nanomaterials known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). These crystalline, sponge-like materials can store, separate, and capture targeted gases, like carbon dioxide. MOF Tech says the technology uses 80% less energy than traditional carbon capture technologies such as amine scrubbing and they can be manufactured on an industrial scale.
In May 2022 MOF Tech announced that it would start work on a trial involving three cement companies – HeidelbergCement, Cementir Holding and Buzzi Unicem – as part of the Global Cement and Concrete Association’s Innovandi ‘Open Challenge’ to achieve net zero concrete by 2050.
Stephen Price, Investment Director at Clean Growth Fund said: “Given the challenges facing industries like cement and steel to cut their CO₂ emissions and their energy use, we are excited about the massive potential for MOF Tech across the world.”
Andrew Challis, co-Head of Principal Investments at Barclays, said: “With the cement industry accounting for 7-8% of global carbon emissions, the impact opportunity for MOF Tech’s pioneering technology is substantial and we are excited to be supporting them as they scale.”