Nanomox, a startup developing sustainable production and recovery processes for inorganic materials, has raised £2.4 million in a seed round led by TSP Ventures and Boast Trading LLC. The round also saw participation from Imperial College Enterprise Fund 3, SNØCAP VC, the Circular Innovation Fund, EIT RawMaterials and UK angel investors. Founded at Imperial in 2020, it has developed an approach to the sustainable production of precisely engineered advanced materials and recovery of valuable resources like zinc, manganese and copper from waste sources and mineral ores. Funding will be used to build a commercial pilot plant and R&D facility called Catalyst 1 to scale production and further develop its platform technology.
Its proprietary process based on ionic liquid chemistry enables production of metal oxide particles tailored for high performance applications ranging from UV protection to electronics and catalysis. The process operates under mild conditions with low energy use and enables control of particle properties such as size, shape and crystallinity. It also enables extraction of metals including zinc, manganese, copper and rare earth elements from mineral ores and industrial waste streams such as spent batteries, mining tailings and waste from steel production.
Nanomox has developed zinc oxide crystals for use in mineral-based sunscreens designed to block UV light with high specificity and address limitations of traditional formulations that leave a white residue on skin. Current products have achieved record-level transparency in independent laboratory evaluation, with a first product launch planned for Q3 2026. The new pilot plant will scale production capacity to tonnes per month to supply partners in the cosmetics industry.
The platform also targets recovery of metals from industrial waste, including zinc-rich electric arc furnace dust. Nanomox estimates the zinc contained within this waste stream could be worth up to $9 billion. It was founded to develop discoveries made by Dr Malaret during his PhD in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London and has grown within the Imperial ecosystem through incubator and enterprise programmes.
