Carbon Re raises GBP4.2m seed funding to address cement industry carbon emissions

Carbon Re, the Cambridge University and UCL joint spin-out, will accelerate the roll-out of artificial intelligence (AI)-based industrial decarbonisation technology.

The company has raised GBP4.2m (US$4.8m) seed funding to scale up the development and deployment of its Delta Zero AI platform, which enables the cement industry to reduce over 50,000tpa of CO₂ emissions per plant. This is the equivalent of taking 11,000 cars off the road.

Carbon Re's cloud-based Delta Zero platform models the unique production environment of each cement plant and uses advanced machine learning and AI techniques to achieve previously out-of-reach operational efficiencies. The platform continuously analyses manufacturing data to enable plant operators to optimise production processes on a near-live basis.  
 
Optimal processes can be identified for the lowest possible CO₂ output and fuel use, reducing operational costs and carbon emissions to otherwise unachievable levels, with no capital expenditure.

Planet A Ventures, a Berlin-based climate tech venture capital firm, led the investment, with follow-on participation from Clean Growth Fund, UCL Technology Fund and Cambridge Enterprise. The new investment will enable product roll-out into the global cement market and expand into other energy-intensive industries, such as steel and glass.

In just two years, Carbon Re’s innovative software is already being used in pilot projects to cut fuel use and CO₂ emissions by up to 10 per cent at cement plants in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
 
Sherif Elsayed-Ali, CEO of Carbon Re, said, "At a time of escalating fuel prices and increasing emphasis on CO₂ reduction targets, there is an urgent need for action. Carbon Re is connecting the biggest challenge of our time – climate change – with the biggest opportunity – advances in AI. Our cement plant trials have demonstrated that Delta Zero can deliver dramatic CO₂ savings on a near-live basis.
 
"Our platform provides a unique solution for energy-intensive industries that delivers GBP2m in fuel cost savings and 50,000t of CO₂ savings per plant. This latest funding round will enable us to accelerate our mission to reduce carbon emissions by gigatonnes every year."