Estonian company UP Catalyst has raised an additional 2.36 million euros in a seed extension round. The company intends to use the money to expand the production of carbon materials from carbon emissions. Together with the first financing round of four million euros from December 2023, the company now has a total of 6.36 million euros in seed capital.
Pilot plant to convert 100 tons of CO₂ per year
UP Catalyst will advance the construction of an industrial pilot plant that will convert 100 tons of CO₂ into 27 tons of graphite and carbon nanotubes per year. The plant will be built near a waste incineration plant in Tallinn so that the CO₂ can be used directly on site.
Significantly smaller carbon footprint
The process is based on fused-salt electrolysis and is expected to produce significantly lower emissions than conventional methods. According to UP Catalyst, the carbon footprint of producing graphite using this process is 0.07 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent per metric ton, which is approximately 20 times less than with conventional production. Carbon emissions from the production of carbon nanotubes are even more than 200 times lower than with the conventional method of chemical vapor deposition.
