Menu
Menu
UP Catalyst
Producing graphite and carbon nanomaterials from CO2 for the electric vehicle batteries.
- Cleantech, Female Founder, SDG&Impact, Smart City
- Seed
Location
Talinn, Estonia
Revenue size
EUR 30,000
Year founded
2019
Funding raised
EUR 500,000 (pre-seed)
EUR 4.3M (grants)
Currently raising EUR 7M (seed-round)
Founders
Dr Gary Urb, Dr Kätlin Kaare, Dr Sander Ratso, Dr Ivar Kruusenberg
Most relevant investors
Sunly
Team size
16
Problem
The demand for graphite and carbon nanomaterials in the rapidly growing EV-industry is estimated to reach 10 million tons by 2030, and a shortage is already evident. Graphite is either mined or synthesized out of fossil fuels resulting in 5.3 kg CO2eq/kg and 13.8 kg CO2eq/kg respectively. This is not sustainable.
SOLUTION
UP Catalyst produces sustainable graphite and carbon nanomaterials out of industrial exhaust CO2, which are carbon negative as 3.7 tons of CO2 is consumed per ton of material produced. They use the technology of Molten Salt Carbon Capture and Electrochemical Transformation (MSCC-ET) for the production of sustainable carbon materials. The process is powered by either wind, solar or hydro energy resulting in a carbon negative production line.
Using CO2 as feedstock, an abundant local resource, enables production to take place anywhere in the world. They offer a wide range of products: CNTs, CNFs, hard carbon, carbon black, graphene and graphite.
KEY CUSTOMERS AND INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE
UP Catalyst’s key customers are electric vehicle battery manufacturers like Univercell, Godi Energy, StoreDot, BritishVolt who opt for sustainable production methods. Their customer base goes beyond European borders, and includes customers from Israel, India, and Australia.
Team
The founding team alone has more than 15 years of experience in developing carbon materials. They have 5 PhD holders and 50+ scientific publications combined. All of their key members have 7+ years of experience in their fields of expertise.
Unique selling point
Competitors emit on average 224 tons of CO2 for each ton of carbon material produced. In comparison, UP Catalyst captures 3.7 tons of CO2. Their production method (MSCC-ET) is 60 times more energy efficient, consuming only 12.5 kWh/kg compared to the CVD which consumes 800 kWh/kg.
Asia Connection
UP Catalyst are currently raising funds and they are looking for investors from Japan and South Korea and would like to connect with potential customers like Panasonic, Samsung, CATL, LG, SK Inc., etc.
Pitch
