Concretene has secured £4.5 million in the first close of a Series A funding round to expand manufacture of its graphene-enhanced concrete admixture and support further industrial trials. The University of Manchester spin-out is developing a production programme intended to use biogas from wastewater treatment as a feedstock for graphene manufactured at multi-tonne scale. The funding was unveiled following a visit to its Manchester materials testing facility by Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
The round includes £2 million from NPIF II – PXN Equity Finance, managed by PXN Ventures as part of the British Business Bank-backed Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II. Existing investors LocalGlobe and Molten Ventures also participated. The £4.5 million is the first close of the round, not a confirmed total for a completed wider Series A, and no additional investment amount or final closing date has been stated. The company says the money will support admixture manufacturing, larger concrete trials and the Manchester graphene programme.
Graphene is being investigated as an admixture that changes the behaviour of cementitious mixtures at low dosages. Hydration of the cement creates binding phases around aggregate particles, and the resulting internal structure influences mechanical strength, permeability and durability. Concretene has worked with the University of Manchester’s Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre to assess whether its additive can allow less cement in specified mixtures without losing required performance. Any improvement must be demonstrated for the particular mix design and curing conditions rather than assumed from the presence of graphene alone.
Laboratory tests and earlier scaled trials reported by Concretene indicate that selected concrete mixes may retain their strength, durability and placement properties with 10–20% less cement. The figure is a supplier-reported range from particular formulations, not a prescribed replacement rate across different exposure conditions, strengths or construction uses. Each application would still need a qualified mix design and evidence that batching, setting, mechanical properties and long-term performance satisfy its specification. The newly raised capital does not establish those results at commercial manufacturing scale.
Cement manufacture contributes substantially to the embodied emissions of conventional concrete, particularly through clinker production and process heating. Removing a portion of the cement can reduce that burden if the resulting concrete meets the same engineering requirements. The calculation must also account for the graphene’s production, the additional admixture, transport and any changed processing needs. Concretene is pursuing what it describes as carbon-negative graphene from waste biogas, although that prospective feedstock route does not make the finished concrete automatically carbon negative.
In May, Concretene secured a £1 million share of an Ofwat-backed collaboration led by United Utilities to investigate recovering value from wastewater biogas. Partners include Tarmac and graphene producer Levidian, whose technology forms part of the proposed route from biogas to usable carbon material. That work addresses feedstock availability and the ability to produce consistent quantities, both important to a concrete admixture business seeking industrial customers. A multi-tonne production operation in Manchester is the company’s stated objective; no commissioning date or independently verified operating capacity has been announced.
Concretene’s testing programme has extended from laboratory specimens to larger concrete pours, including slabs and infrastructure-related trials. Its admixture is intended to enter conventional batching operations rather than require an entirely new concrete manufacturing plant. Industrial use nevertheless depends on consistent dosing and dispersion, control of incoming material quality and evidence that the finished concrete meets the required specification. The company is working across ready-mixed and precast applications, but the fundraising announcement does not give a commissioned output rate for the proposed production expansion.
Scaling an admixture introduces quality-control demands beyond demonstrating improved performance in a single pour. Graphene materials may differ in particle shape, surface chemistry and dispersion behaviour, while concrete plants use varying cement blends, aggregates and curing conditions. Dose control and mixing must therefore be repeatable, and representative batches need testing before a formulation can be transferred between plants. Arup has supported the company’s technical development and wider industry adoption, but the fundraising announcement does not establish universal product approval for structural applications.
Concretene aims to offset the cost of the admixture against savings from cement reduction, producing a cost-neutral concrete mixture at scale. That is a stated commercial target, not a demonstrated price across the industry. The balance depends on graphene manufacturing cost, dosage, cement prices and the permissible reduction in each specification. The first £4.5 million Series A close provides capital for manufacturing development and larger trials; confirmed multi-tonne output, routine selling prices and measured carbon reductions from the proposed expansion have yet to be reported.
