Reclinker has raised £10 million in Series A funding to scale its cement recycling process to full commercial production.
The new process turns demolition waste back into cement without a kiln, quarried limestone, or fossil-fuel heat, using the electric arc furnaces already recycling steel.
Developed at the University of Cambridge, Reclinker’s proprietary solution recovers cement paste from construction demolition and can turn it back into clinker, cement’s key ingredient,
The process occurs inside electric arc furnaces (EAFs) that are already used to recycle steel, so it produces new cement and recycled steel simultaneously.
The new method is expected to deliver an immediate 50% reduction in emissions, with further reductions as the technology scales – at cost parity with conventional cement – as the process requires no kiln, no quarried limestone and no fossil-fuel-driven heat.
As part of trials at 7 Steel UK’s site, Reclinker has produced thousands of tonnes of the material and secured its first commercial sales.
Reclinker says the new funding will be used to scale production in Cardiff, as well as support replication across additional electric arc furnace sites in Europe and the US.
Bill Yost, CEO of Reclinker, said they were thrilled to have received backing from both existing and incoming investors.
“This oversubscribed round sends a strong signal that UK investors are serious about decarbonisation,” Yost said. “We are particularly glad this investment will support the growth of green industries in Wales.”
The funding round was co-led by specialist climate tech investors, Clean Growth Fund and AP Ventures, with further participation from Development Bank of Wales and existing investors, including Zero Carbon Capital and Cambridge Enterprise.
Clean Growth Fund, a specialist climate tech venture capital platform, was founded in 2020 to invest in UK-based innovations that significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions or improve resource efficiency.
Stephen Price, Investment Partner at Clean Growth Fund, called cement ‘one of the most challenging sectors to decarbonise, with emissions deeply embedded in both process chemistry and energy use’.
“Reclinker’s approach is a compelling example of how industrial symbiosis can unlock meaningful emissions reductions by leveraging existing infrastructure,” he continued.
“By integrating cement production into steel recycling, the company offers a scalable and economically attractive pathway to reducing the carbon intensity of one of the world’s most widely used materials.”
