Copernic Catalysts, a developer of novel catalysts for sustainable chemicals and e-fuels, today announced it has raised an oversubscribed $8 million Series Seed Prime round, according to a news release.
Breakout Ventures led the round, with existing investors Future Ventures and Engine Ventures and new investors, including Innospark Ventures, New Climate Ventures, and Impact Science Ventures.
Copernic will use the fresh capital to scale its ammonia synthesis catalyst to the kg-scale and to expand beyond that work with its exclusive research partner, Schrödinger, to develop a second catalyst target for the Fischer-Tropsch syngas-to-sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), thereby improving the carbon footprint of the aviation industry.
Due to its widespread use in fertilizer and chemical production, conventional ammonia is in high demand, representing an $80 billion industry. Ammonia made from green, blue, or white hydrogen is also a leading candidate for zero-carbon shipping fuel, offering the potential to replace 3% of global carbon emissions. However, existing ammonia production processes remain expensive and carbon-intensive. Because conventional ammonia production is optimized to rely on fossil fuels, this process accounts for 1% of the world’s carbon emissions – more than that of any other industrial chemical.
“To realize the potential of ammonia in global decarbonization efforts, ammonia’s own carbon intensity must be reduced. Copernic utilizes cutting-edge computational materials design to transform the production of commodity chemicals and e-fuels like ammonia for a low-carbon future,” said Dr. Jacob Grose, co-founder and CEO of Copernic. “Our first proprietary catalyst – already being tested by one of the world’s largest ammonia producers – can drop into existing manufacturing infrastructure and drastically reduce the temperatures and pressures required for ammonia synthesis, thereby enabling the economic production of reduced- and zero-carbon ammonia.”
“Copernic is exactly the type of company we look to support, a deeply experienced team leveraging computation to transform traditional industries,” said Lindy Fishburne, Managing Partner at Breakout Ventures and new Copernic Board member. “The company’s platform for catalyst design will enable the development of more cost-competitive, zero-carbon chemicals and fuels, and accelerate the trajectory for developing more carbon-efficient processes for the energy and chemicals industries.”
The Copernic founding team brings decades of experience in the chemicals industry. Dr. Grose was previously an Investment Manager at BASF Venture Capital, and Dr. Aruna Ramkrishnan, co-founder and CTO, previously held technical leadership positions at ExxonMobil and Linde.
