MCi Carbon gets $8 million investment from Japanese cement company 

MCi Carbon has announced its fourth piece of funding from a Japanese investor, with Mitsubishi UBE Cement Corporation (MUCC) taking a $US 5 million (approximately $8 million) stake in the carbon capture and reuse technology startup.

In a statement on Wednesday, MCi said the current fundraising round of over $US20 million ($32 million) was committed on a post-money valuation of $US 200 million ($320 million.) It follows investments from Japan’s ITOCHU Corporation, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.

MCi added that the partnership included a long-term collaboration agreement pairing on MUCC’s “extensive cement industry knowledge” with the Australian company’s “leadership in mineral carbonation technology.”

This pair said teaming up will see carbon dioxide emissions directly abated, and novel low-carbon materials from MUCC’s CO2 emissions developed, which “can be re-used in its cement process or elsewhere in the Japanese economy.” 

“By partnering with us, MUCC brings tangible momentum to integrating mineral carbonation into the Japanese cement industry,” said MCi Carbon Founder and CEO Marcus Dawe. 

“As we strengthen our ties with forward-looking partners like MUCC, ITOCHU, and Taisei, we move closer to large-scale deployment that reduces emissions, delivers profitable outcomes, and firmly aligns with Japan’s climate ambitions.”

The new investment will support the “imminent commissioning” of MCi’s mineral carbonation demonstration plant in Australia, which “will serve as a global showcase.“

The Newcastle-headquartered company’s technology captures industrial emissions and uses them to make products and materials using a chemical process called mineral carbonation. 

It has a stated mission of capturing “1 billion tonnes of CO2 by 2040” and a vision of “profitably decarbonising global industries by turning CO2 emissions into valuable products.”

Picture: credit MCi

Further reading

New Japanese investment in MCi Carbon

MCi’s new Newcastle office supports CO2 capture

$65 million in grants awarded through Carbon Capture Technologies Program