PITCH PERFECT
Michael Evans, CEO of Cambridge Carbon Capture, gives us his business pitch
What’s your pitch? Cambridge Carbon Capture has developed a potentially game-
What makes the company unique? As well as being able to capture vast amounts of CO2 from industrial emissions and the atmosphere, our technology has the potential to make significant profit from the sale of valuable by-products from the captured CO2, using our process. The technology takes the concept of a circular economy to a whole new level, offering significant commercial opportunities. The by-product is strong and lightweight, extremely fire and water resistant and has many different potential applications across the construction and base chemicals industries. As such, the technology offers an unmissable opportunity for industry to make a profit while removing CO2 from the atmosphere. We hope this will drive investment in the rapid roll-out of our technology and make a significant contribution to reaching net zero. Biggest achievement so far? Earlier this year, we secured a contract with a major UK energy utility company to demonstrate how our technology can impact their operational carbon emissions and have collaborated with the one of the world’s largest construction materials companies
changing solution to climate change. Our technology removes CO2 from the atmosphere and converts it into a versatile and marketable material with many potential commercial uses. By offering a solution where it is possible for companies to make a profit from CO2 capture, our technology enables all industries to reach net zero, putting a halt on climate change permanently. How did the company start? In 2014, we secured funding and industry support to develop our CO2LOC process and carbon capture technology. Since then, we’ve proved the technology in the lab, and are now developing demonstrators to prove it in industrial applications. For that, we need investment. We’re currently in discussions with a range of organisations to establish partnerships to trial the technology, and are seeking investment to support and accelerate ongoing projects to demonstrate our technology in real-world applications. What’s your role and background? I started my career as a product designer, but my interest in science and innovation took me in new and exciting directions. My current role at Cambridge Carbon Capture is CEO, which involves meeting and discussing our technology with commercial businesses, writing proposals and developing the business strategy to raise the funds needed to develop and commercialise the technology.
to develop products using the by- products from our demonstrator trials – watch this space. Biggest challenges? Our biggest challenge is the scale of the task ahead of us and the speed at which we need to work. If we are to have any chance of keeping the rise in average temperatures below 1.5°C, CO2 emissions must hit net zero as soon as possible. We’re working to ensure a better future for our children and future generations, but we need close collaboration with existing industries and large amounts of investment to implement our technology on an impactful scale. Which individuals or companies are your biggest inspirations? My biggest inspiration is Greta Thunberg, because she speaks for her generation. It is her generation that will suffer the most and they are rightly holding us to account. We need to respond to the climate emergency and prevent climate change for good. Where do you want the business to be in five years? Within the next five years, we need to have achieved a full demonstration of our technology across all major industries that produce a significant amount of CO2. We hope that, in turn, this will mean that we are growing closer to putting a halt on dangerous climate change.
ABOVE Michael Evans
became the CEO of Cambridge Carbon Capture in 2014
Our technology removes CO2 from the atmosphere and converts it into a versatile and marketable material"
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ISSUE 04
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