Dublin-based PlasmaBound, a company that has developed Controlled Polymer Ablation (CPA), announced on Friday that it raised €750K in funding from Business Venture Partners (BVP) in December.
The funding was added to a prior 2022 raise with Act Venture Capital, Atlantic Bridge, and Enterprise Ireland, bringing the total amount raised in 2022 to €3.1M.
Stephen Burdock, Director at BVP, says, “BVP believes in transforming through technology and have been impressed by the environmental benefits that PlasmaBound can deliver across various sectors through the application of its CPA technology. BVP are pleased to be able to support this innovative company who are driving real value across global markets.”
Capital utilisation
PlasmaBound has developed Controlled Polymer Ablation (CPA), an environmentally friendly bonding process for lightweight composite materials. CPA enables high-speed and low-cost bonding of ultra-lightweight materials.
PlasmaBound’s CEO and co-founder, Alan Barry, says, “We are delighted to have secured this investment from BVP. It will help PlasmaBound bring about a further positive impact on the environment with the adaption of our CPA technology in the manufacturing process throughout various sectors, with a particular focus on automotive, aerospace and space, along with consumer electronics and sports & leisure.”
PlasmaBound: Everything you need to know
Headquartered in NovaUCD, PlasmaBound was founded in 2017 by Dr James Nicholas Barry, Alan Barry, and Xavier Montibert. It is a spin-out company of University College Dublin (UCD). PlasmaBound’s CPA process facilitates the structural adhesive joining of lightweight materials, namely carbon and glass fibre-reinforced composites.
For low to mid-range automobiles, the company aims to make lightweight materials accessible, bringing the movement toward reduced CO2 emissions and longer EV ranges into mass-market applications. According to PlasmaBound, this will accelerate the EV proposition’s feasibility and have a ‘step-change’ effect on sustainable production.
What is Lightweighting?
PlasmaBound says Lightweighting involves replacing heavy/metal components with lighter, ideally stronger materials such as fiber-reinforced composites, in order to reduce product payload/weight and any related operating costs or emissions.
Product assembly is a crucial business activity in today’s consumer industries as many people’s survival in the forthcoming EV age depends on the efficient use of lighter designs. “Put simply, if your product needs to get off the ground (or the planet), or move under its own limited energy supply, then a core focus of current and future design is on weight reduction,” says the company.
