Scottish green chemicals producer, Celtic Renewables, has launched a crowdfunding campaign with Crowdcube to raise at least £2.75 million to boost operational capacity.
Celtic Renewable is the first in the world to produce and supply green chemicals to lower the carbon footprint of thousands of products such as cosmetics, paints and household cleaners.
It recently sent its first production to distribution partner, Caldic, a company that creates bespoke solutions for the food, pharma, personal care and industrial markets.
The company produces green chemicals at its flagship biorefinery in Grangemouth. Its patented technology converts low-value by-products, residues and waste from a range of industries, such as food and drinks production, into high-value green chemicals.
It plans to build a further four biorefineries in the next four to five years with a combined product output of around 32,000 tonnes per year.
Mark Simmers, CEO, said: “The ultimate goal of this crowdfunding campaign is to allow us to scale what we are doing which will allow us to supply green chemicals to a long list of potential customers who are ready and waiting.
“The timing is right and many companies and industries are eager to make the change to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels.”
AI firm raises £6m
Malted AI, the Scottish AI startup, that helps enterprises build smaller, more focused AI models with greater performance at a fraction of the cost, has secured £6 million in seed investment.
The round was led by Hoxton Ventures (which invested in Cogna and Heura Foods) and joined by Creator Fund and angel investors. It previously raised £1m in a pre-seed round led by Creator Fund in August last year.
The company will use the new funding to invest in research, product development, and recruitment as it doubles the team size. The firm’s technology is already being used by financial and legal firms in its first pilots, with further rollout planned for the rest of this year.
Malted AI was founded by Iain Mackie, Federico Rossetto, and Carlos Gammel.
