SHANGHAI, AUGUST 9, 2022:
CM VENTURE CAPITAL FUND III (THEREAFTER CMV3) ANNOUNCED THAT IT HAS INVESTED IN UK-BASED ECONIC TECHNOLOGIES (THEREAFTER ECONIC), A DEEP TECH LEADER IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF CO2 INTO VALUE. CMV3 IS A CO-INVESTOR IN A 10.4 MILLION GBP (12.4 MILLION USD) ROUND ALONG WITH OGCI CLIMATE INVESTMENTS, CAPRICORN SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY FUND, GC VENTURES COMPANY LIMITED AND ING SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENTS BV.
THE FUNDING WILL SUPPORT ECONIC TECHNOLOGIES THROUGH THE COMMERCIALISATION OF ITS CATALYST AND PROCESS TECHNOLOGY, WHICH ENABLES CO2 TO BE USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF POLYMERS. THE INVESTORS RECOGNISE THE STRONG VALUE AND SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT OF ECONIC’S PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY TO SERVE MARKETS DRIVING TO LOWER THEIR CARBON FOOTPRINT.
“THE KEY INVESTMENT RATIONALE FOR THE CMV3 TEAM IS THAT CAPTURING CO2 IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE A COST CENTER, AND IT IS ONLY THROUGH THE UTILIZATION OF THE CO2 TO MAKE A HIGH-VALUE CHEMICAL THAT CARBON CAPTURE AND UTILIZATION (CCU) CAN BECOME A PROFITABLE BUSINESS”, COMMENTED DR. PATRICK BERBON, MANAGING PARTNER AT CMV3, “WE BELIEVE ECONIC IS A PERFECT CASE OF PROFITABLE CARBON UTILIZATION, AS THE CO2 IS A LARGE PORTION OF THE FINAL POLYOL CHEMICAL, AND IT IS A CHEAPER RAW MATERIAL THAN THE ETHYLENE OXIDE (EO) AND PROPYLENE OXIDE (PO) IT REPLACES”.
“OUR INVESTMENT FOLLOWS THE SUCCESSFUL LICENSING DEAL OF THE ECONIC CORE TECHNOLOGY BY CHANGHUA CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY COMPANY LTD, A STRONG LOCAL CHINESE CHEMICAL COMPANY IN THE POLYOL AND POLYURETHANE BUSINESSES, AND THAT CMV3 KNOWS WELL”, COMMENTED DR. MIN ZHOU, MANAGING PARTNER AT CMV3, “ALONG WITH A TECHNOLOGY LICENSING DEAL WITH MANALI PETROCHEMICALS LIMITED, THE MARKET LEADER AND THE ONLY INTEGRATED POLYOL PRODUCER IN INDIA.”
THE POTENTIAL OF ECONIC’S CARBON-TO-VALUE TECHNOLOGY GOES BEYOND THE POLYOL/POLYURETHANE MARKET. THE COMPANY RECENTLY ANNOUNCED NOVEL CO2 SURFACTANT DEVELOPMENT, SUPPORTED BY THE UK GOVERNMENT BEIS GRANT.
KEITH WIGGINS, CEO OF ECONIC, SAID: “IT IS AN EXCITING TIME FOR ECONIC! WE ARE DELIGHTED TO HAVE THE FUNDS TO COMMERCIALIZE OUR TECHNOLOGY AND THANK OUR EXISTING AND NEW INVESTORS FOR THEIR SUPPORT TO COMPLETE THIS RAISE. WITH RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES AND SOARING OIL PRICES, THE TIMING IS RIGHT FOR ECONIC TECHNOLOGIES.”
