Aramco Ventures Takes Lead in £8 Million Funding Round for Promethean Particles

Image credit: Promethean Particles

Promethean Particles has unveiled the successful completion of an £8 million financing round. This funding round, spearheaded by Mercia Ventures and Aramco Ventures, also saw contributions from a range of existing investors, including the Midlands Engine Investment Fund I (managed by Foresight), the University of Nottingham, TSP Ventures, and the East Midlands Early Growth Fund (managed by the British Business Bank).

Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are at the heart of this investment. These advanced materials are crafted from metal ions linked together by organic molecules, creating a porous, lattice-like framework. This distinctive structure endows MOFs with an extraordinarily high surface area and the ability to customise pore sizes, making them exceptionally adept at capturing and storing gases and liquids. Their versatility renders them invaluable for a host of applications, including gas storage and separation, carbon capture, and catalytic processes.

“The closing of our Series A funding round represents a significant milestone in the Company’s growth journey, and we are delighted to welcome Mercia and Aramco Ventures to the Promethean team,” said James Stephenson, chief executive officer of Promethean. “We are extremely grateful for the trust they have placed in us and are excited by their recognition of our business potential and the impact we can have on the world. It is increasingly evident that a viable carbon capture solution is required to help mitigate the effects of climate change. MOFs show significant promise as a next generation solution and Promethean’s manufacturing technology enables their production at unprecedented scale and cost-effectiveness. I couldn’t be prouder of the Promethean team for all that they have accomplished to help make this investment a reality.”

The company has pioneered a proprietary continuous-flow reactor that revolutionises MOF production by significantly boosting throughput and reducing costs. This innovation enhances process reliability and consistency and maintains critical quality parameters, ensuring that high standards are never compromised. Promethean currently offers an extensive range of MOFs tailored for diverse applications, including carbon capture and storage (CCS), biogas upgrading, water harvesting, and gas separation and storage.

Dr Marina Fuentes, investment manager at Mercia Ventures, said, “Promethean Particles is uniquely positioned to capitalise on the fast-growing MOF market through their innovative manufacturing reactor technology, which addresses the bottlenecks of cost and scalability. We are thrilled to support a highly capable team and cutting-edge technology that has been developed over 15 years and is now ripe for commercialisation at scale. We are also excited to partner with Aramco Ventures, whose strategic expertise will bring significant value to the Board.”

As head of strategic venturing at Aramco Ventures, Bruce Niven said, “MOFs are an emerging class of materials with unique properties and wide-ranging applications, including several in the energy transition domain. Promethean offers new capabilities to scale manufacturing of MOFs cost-effectively, which is a critical ingredient in unlocking the potential for these materials to gain widespread acceptance.”

The fresh capital infusion will empower the Nottingham-based company to establish a larger-scale manufacturing facility, broaden its team, and embark on additional projects that showcase the transformative potential of MOFs in energy transition applications.