Harpenden-based Barton Blakeley, a carbon utilisation company, has raised £2.4M (approximately €2.87M) in fresh funding.
The round was led by Elbow Beach Capital, a London-based decarbonisation and sustainability investor, contributing £1.7M. This investment supports Elbow Beach’s focus on future technologies and expands its portfolio, which includes energy startups WASE and Anaphite.
Jonathan Pollock, CEO of Elbow Beach Capital, says, “We are delighted to be supporting Barton Blakeley. Their team has developed some exceptional technology and the commercial application has wide-reaching implications across a diverse span of industries and a massive addressable market.”
“Elbow Beach Capital is pleased to lead this funding round, which will enable Barton Blakeley’s technology to be brought on-site at industrial factories for the first time.”
Transforming green electricity availability and performance for all
Carbon utilisation is a key technology for reducing emissions. However, most current solutions are expensive and require a lot of energy. Barton Blakeley has created a chemical process that removes industrial CO2 emissions permanently and turns them into clean energy and synthetic silica efficiently.
Synthetic silica, vital for making optical fibres and semiconductors in products like internet cables and smartphones, is traditionally produced through carbon-intensive and costly methods, emitting about 30kg of CO2e per kilogram.
Barton Blakeley’s technology repurposes waste emissions to produce silica, reducing its environmental impact and cost while ensuring a greener and more secure domestic supply.
The company’s process not only produces synthetic silica but also generates clean energy, offering industries a way to reduce CO2 emissions directly. The company has developed modular sites that can be installed on industrial premises to capture and utilise emissions on-site efficiently.
Capital utilisation
Barton Blakeley aims to deploy its first industrial system to harness emissions, building on its current test plant. Within four years, each system is expected to remove 1 kilotonne of CO2 annually—the equivalent of 200 commercial flights between London and Washington, D.C.
An additional 15.5 kilotonnes of CO2 per year could be saved by using its process for manufacturing synthetic silica, significantly reducing industrial emissions.
In the medium-term growth, Barton Blakeley plans to expand into additional markets, leveraging the versatility of synthetic silica to serve a wider range of industries.
Christopher Barton, CEO of Barton Blakeley, says, “After a period of technical development, it is exciting to be taking firm steps towards commercialisation through placing our first system at an industrial site.”
“In addition to capturing carbon, our ground-breaking technology will provide cheaper, greener, and local synthetic silica in addition to green energy, and we look forward to working with industry partners to see this opportunity grow.”
Barton adds, “Elbow Beach Capital’s experience in supporting early-stage startups through the commercialisation process makes them an ideal partner for us and we have already benefitted from JP and the team’s support.”
Volker Beckers appointed Chair of Barton Blakeley
Elbow Beach Capital has announced Volker Beckers, CBE, as the new Chair of Barton Blakeley. Beckers, former Group CEO of RWE Npower and recent CBE honoree for services to nuclear energy has extensive experience in the energy sector.
He has held key roles in industry advisory panels, including as President of the British Institute of Energy Economics, and brings expertise in energy policy, sustainability, and supporting business growth and commercialisation.
Beckers says, “I am pleased to be joining Barton Blakeley at this pivotal time for the company. With the technology proven, I look forward to supporting the company as it enters its first commercial partnerships and navigates the scale-up process with a great partner in Elbow Beach Capital.”
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