Carbon Waters raises 2 million euros to industrialize graphene
French startup Carbon Waters, specializing in the development and production of lines of high-performance additives, has raised €2 million. The company is ramping up industrial production with a new pilot factory.
Photo Credit: Carbon Waters
Liquid graphen company Carbon Waters (Bordeaux, France) reached a milestone in its development after it raised €2 million in its latest funding round to industrialize its graphene based, high-performance additives production process.
Achieving this level demonstrates the potential of its graphene, the company says. Graphene, a nanomaterial involved in developing products, is known for its mechanical and thermal resistance and electrical and thermal conductivity. It also offers anticorrosion and preservative properties. These properties, in addition to mechanical reinforcement and electrostatic discharge (ESD), are often what Carbon Waters’ composites-related clients — spanning many industries, but especially naval, aeronautics, space, energy or defense — look for to enhance their composite products, the company tells CW.
Carbon Waters’ dispersed graphene production process is said to be at the heart of its disruptive innovation. The process enables the company to provide industrialists with “ready to use” product lines. Four years of R&D and €3 million of investment in the process has produced two patents, with a third one on the way.
“We are currently working in three major development areas,” says Alban Chesneau, CEO of Carbon Waters. “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.”
The startup plans to use the investment to advance from prototyping to the preindustrial process. The funds came from longtime shareholders Aquiti Gestion and Nouvelle-Aquitaine Co-investissement (NACO), the Tirésias Angels and Paris Business Angels investment funds and several other business angels. Carbon Waters also received financial support from Bpifrance.
The funding is intended to initially finance a pilot factory to serve as the standard-bearer in ultralow resource consumption in its processes. The building is to measure approximately 1,200 square meters, built in metropolitan Bordeaux. The company is implementing a sizable hiring plan to support its development, creating a dozen skilled jobs.
At its current capacity, Carbon Waters produces 500 kilos of graphene dispersion. According to the company, 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 — the goal is producing 50 to 100 tons of graphene dispersion by late 2025. Achieving this requires a factory with a larger capacity and a larger business team. The company plans to do another round of fundraising following its previous campaign.
Carbon Waters has two main markets in its sights: paints, which account for potentially €2 billion, and polymers, which could exceed €4 billion. The company 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.
