Nottingham’s Promethean Particles secures €9.3M to expand its carbon capture technology

Nottingham-based Promethean Particles (Promethean), a climate tech company specialising in advanced materials for carbon capture and other applications, has secured £8M (approximately €9.31M) in a fresh round of funding. 

The round was led by Mercia Ventures and Aramco Ventures, with participation from existing investors, including the Midlands Engine Investment Fund I (managed by Foresight), the University of Nottingham, TSP Ventures, and the East Midlands Early Growth Fund (managed by the British Business Bank).

Powering the energy transition

Promethean Particles, started from research by Professor Ed Lester at the University of Nottingham, makes advanced materials called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to help fight climate change. 

These MOFs have a structure full of tiny holes, which allows them to hold a lot of gases or liquids and be customised for different uses. Promethean has developed a proprietary continuous-flow reactor that makes MOFs more efficient, which lowers production costs and improves reliability. 

The company produces a variety of MOFs for uses like capturing carbon, upgrading biogas, harvesting water, and storing gases. MOF-based carbon capture offers advantages over existing technologies as they are more energy-efficient, simpler to use, take up less space, and have an improved environmental, health, and safety (EHS) profile.

Promethean runs the world’s largest plant for making these materials, with a capacity of 1,000 tonnes per year, at its site in Nottingham, UK.

Capital utilisation

The funds will enable Promethean Particles to establish a larger manufacturing facility, grow its team, and undertake more projects highlighting the potential of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in energy transition applications.

James Stephenson, CEO of Promethean, says, “The closing of our Series A round represents a significant milestone in the company’s growth journey, and we are delighted to welcome Mercia and Aramco Ventures to the Promethean team. We are extremely grateful for the trust they have placed in us and are excited by their recognition of our business potential and the impact we can have on the world.”

“It is increasingly evident that a viable carbon capture solution is required to help mitigate the effects of climate change. MOFs show significant promise as a technological solution and Promethean’s manufacturing technology enables their production at unprecedented scale and cost-effectiveness. I couldn’t be prouder of the Promethean team for all that they have accomplished to help make this investment a reality.”

What do the investors have to say?

Speaking about the investment in Promethean, Dr Marina Fuentes, investment manager at Mercia Ventures, says, “Promethean Particles is uniquely positioned to capitalise on the fast-growing MOF market through their innovative manufacturing reactor technology, which addresses the bottlenecks of cost and scalability.”

“We are thrilled to support a highly capable team and a cutting-edge technology that has been developed over 15 years and is now ripe for commercialisation at scale. We are also excited to partner with Aramco Ventures, whose strategic expertise will bring significant value to the Board.”

Mercia Ventures is a VC firm that invests up to £10M across various sectors, including software, consumer, healthcare, and deeptech. It operates under Mercia Fund Management Limited and Mercia Regional Ventures Limited, part of the Mercia Asset Management PLC Group. The Mercia Asset Management PLC Group manages nearly £1.8B in assets and is listed on AIM under the ticker “MERC.”

Bruce Niven, head of strategic venturing at Aramco Ventures, adds, “MOFs are an emerging class of materials with unique properties and wide-ranging applications including several in the energy transition domain. Promethean offers new capabilities to scale manufacturing of MOFs cost-effectively, which is a critical ingredient in unlocking the potential for these materials to gain widespread acceptance.”

Aramco Ventures is the corporate venture arm of Aramco, a global energy and chemical enterprise. It invests in startups and high-growth companies worldwide that have technologies important to Aramco. 

Its focus areas include operational decarbonisation, new lower-carbon fuels, and digital transformation. Aramco Ventures also manages Prosperity7, a programme that invests in disruptive technologies.