France-based start-up Carbon Waters, specializing in the development and production of lines of high-performance industrial additives, has announced it has raised 2 million euros to industrialize its graphene-based high-performance additives production process. Carbon Waters will be ramping up its industrial production with a new pilot factory.
Carbon Waters’ unique dispersed graphene production process is at the heart of its innovation. The process allows the company to provide industrialists with “ready to use” product lines. Four years of R&D and €3 million of investment in the process have already produced two patents, with a third one on the way.
“We are currently working in three major development areas. Our first field of expertise is totally or partially replacing toxic products, particularly for paint manufacturers. Our second field of action: decarbonizing the industry and lightening structures for the naval, automobile, aeronautics, and space industries. Our third area of research: developing solutions for storing and transporting hydrogen, and extending the useful life of materials, such as those
used in batteries”, said Alban Chesneau, CEO of Carbon Waters.
The start-up will use the investment to advance from prototyping to the preindustrial process. The funds came from Aquiti Gestion and NACO (Nouvelle-Aquitaine Co-investissement), longtime shareholders, and the Tirésias Angels and Paris Business Angels investment funds, plus several other business angels. Carbon Waters also received financial support from BPI France.
The funding will initially finance a pilot factory, whose goal is to be the standard-bearer in ultra-low resource consumption in its processes. The new building, to measure approximately 1200 m2 , is expected to take shape over the next few months in metropolitan Bordeaux. The company is implementing a sizeable hiring plan to support its development, creating a dozen skilled jobs.
Carbon Waters currently produces 500 kilos of graphene dispersion. The performance of its additives has been validated by numerous firms representing multiple industrial sectors. The Company aims to increase its production tenfold next year, with a goal of producing 50 to 100 tons of graphene dispersion by late 2025. Achieving this ramp-up will require a larger- capacity factory and a larger business team. Its new industrial horizon means another round
of fundraising.
The company has two main markets in its sights: paints, which account for potentially €2 billion, and polymers, which could exceed €4 billion. Carbon Waters is sealing multiple technological, industrial, and commercial partnership deals with the leaders in these sectors in order to turbocharge market penetration in France and internationally.