Reclinker, a startup turning demolition waste into low-carbon cement, has secured £10 million in Series A funding to take its cement recycling process from successful trials to full commercial production. The round is co-led by Clean Growth Fund and AP Ventures, with participation from Development Bank of Wales, Kibo Invest and existing investors including Zero Carbon Capital and Cambridge Enterprise. New funding will scale production in Cardiff and create skilled green jobs in South Wales, with further replication planned across additional electric arc furnace sites in Europe and the US.
Cement is responsible for approximately 7% of global CO₂ emissions, with the vast majority arising from clinker production, where emissions are largely derived from the calcination of limestone and fossil fuels burned in high-temperature kilns. Reclinker’s proprietary solution, developed at the University of Cambridge and described in Nature, recovers cement paste from construction demolition and turns it back into clinker inside the electric arc furnaces already used to recycle steel. This process produces new cement and recycled steel simultaneously, requiring no kiln, no quarried limestone and no fossil-fuel-driven heat. The cementitious slag produced is expected to deliver an immediate 50% reduction in emissions, with further reductions anticipated as the technology scales, at cost parity with conventional cement.
Reclinker has already produced thousands of tonnes at 7 Steel UK's Cardiff site and secured its first commercial sales, tapping into surging commercial demand. Blast-furnace slag, long used to make low-carbon cement blends, is disappearing as steelmakers move away from blast furnaces, leaving concrete producers short of the low-carbon materials they increasingly need. Reclinker’s product is positioned to step into that gap, offering a new low-carbon input that leverages existing steel recycling infrastructure.
Reclinker’s approach has been further validated through the Innovate UK Advance Market Commitment, where large concrete users have publicly stated their intent to introduce significant volumes of low carbon materials over the next five years. Funding will support the move from trial production to full commercial operations in Cardiff and underpin plans to replicate the model at additional electric arc furnace sites internationally, building on the industrial trials and early commercial traction already achieved.
We are thrilled to have received backing from both our existing and incoming investors. This oversubscribed round sends a strong signal that UK investors are serious about decarbonisation. We are particularly glad this investment will support the growth of green industries in Wales.
Cement is one of the most challenging sectors to decarbonise, with emissions deeply embedded in both process chemistry and energy use. Reclinker’s approach is a compelling example of how industrial symbiosis can unlock meaningful emissions reductions by leveraging existing infrastructure. By integrating cement production into steel recycling, the company offers a scalable and economically attractive pathway to reducing the carbon intensity of one of the world’s most widely used materials. Clean Growth Fund is delighted to support Reclinker as it advances production scale-up and commercial deployment.
Portland cement clinker is essential to infrastructure development, yet remains one of the hardest industrial emissions sources to abate. Reclinker has developed a unique, scalable, and cost-competitive route to low-carbon clinker production that can be deployed using existing steel industry capital equipment. Its ability to reduce cement emissions while consuming one of the world’s largest industrial waste streams made Reclinker a natural investment for AP Ventures in the cement sector.
This investment demonstrates the power of co-investment in bringing innovative, high-growth businesses to Wales. By investing alongside specialist climate technology investors, we're helping Reclinker establish and grow its presence here, building on the successful industrial trials already undertaken in Cardiff.
