HomeFundingCarbon Re raises new funding to harness AI to decarbonise the most...

Carbon Re raises new funding to harness AI to decarbonise the most energy-intensive industries

London-based startup, Carbon Re, has just secured over €4.7 million (£4.2 million) for its AI-based approach to decarbonisation. The climate tech startup, which spun out from Cambridge University and UCL,  is aiming to tackle gigatonnes of emissions from the highly-polluting cement industry. 

The race to reach Net Zero is firmly on. According to recent reports, we are lagging behind and the outlook isn’t looking where it needs to be. Now, as world leaders prepare to convene for COP27, a London-based startup has raised new funds to address carbon emissions from the most energy-intensive industries. 

Carbon Re has just raised just over €4.7 million in seed funding to scale up the development and deployment of its novel technology.

  • Berlin-based Planet A Ventures led the investment
  • Clean Growth Fund, UCL Technology Fund and Cambridge Enterprise all also participated

Energy-intensive industries, such as cement, steel and glass, account for over 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions and are one of the hardest sectors of the economy to decarbonise.  These are sectors critical to societal development, shaping virtually every aspect of how societies and economies run and operate. Decarbonising these sectors will play a major role in defining our future and creating a greener outlook. 

The current decarbonisation strategy for these industries relies heavily on cement, steel and glass, which account for over 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions and are one of the hardest sectors of the economy to decarbonise. This is what Carbon Re aims to tackle. 

Founded in 2020 as a spin-out from Cambridge University and UCL, Carbon Re takes an AI-based approach. The startup’s Delta Zero AI platform enables the highly pollutive cement industry to reduce a claimed 50 kilotonnes of annual CO2 emissions per plant. Each installation of the software saves as much CO2 as taking 11,000 cars off the road. It is actively reducing emissions today, whilst cutting the cost of production and requiring no new equipment, making it an exciting development to reduce emissions from these highly-polluting sectors. 

In just two years since its inception, Carbon Re’s innovative software is already being used in pilot projects to cut fuel use and CO2 emissions by up to 10% at cement plants in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Sherif Elsayed-Ali, CEO of Carbon Re: “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.”

Carbon Re’s cloud-based Delta Zero platform models the unique production environment of each plant and uses advanced machine learning and AI techniques to achieve previously out-of-reach operational efficiencies. Delta Zero continuously analyses manufacturing data to enable plant operators to optimise production processes 

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.

Sherif added: “Our platform provides a unique solution for energy-intensive industries that delivers £2 million in fuel cost savings and 50,000 tonnes of CO2 savings per plant. This latest funding round will enable us to accelerate our mission to reduce carbon emissions by gigatonnes every year.”

 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.

Jan Christoph Gras, General Partner at Planet A, said: “Energy-intensive materials, such as cement and steel, are the backbone of modern economies but they account for more than 20% of global CO2 emissions. Carbon Re’s state-of-the-art AI solution has the potential to tackle some of the toughest challenges on the road to a carbon-neutral future. Starting with fuel efficiency in cement, Carbon Re has the ambition and capability to develop a large portfolio of advanced solutions across multiple industries – and substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” 

Patricia Allen
Patricia Allen
is the former Head of Content at EU-Startups. With a background in politics, Patricia has a real passion for how shared ideas across communities and cultures can bring new initiatives and innovations for the future.
RELATED ARTICLES

Most Popular