Cambridge-born technology, proven at major Cardiff manufacturing facility, turns demolition waste back into cement using the electric arc furnaces already recycling steel: no kiln, no quarried limestone, no fossil-fuel heat.

Reclinker, the company turning demolition waste into low-carbon cement, has secured £10 million in Series A funding to take its breakthrough cement recycling process from successful trials to full commercial production. The round is co-led by specialist climate tech investors, Clean Growth Fund and AP Ventures, with further participation from Development Bank of Wales, Kibo Invest and existing investors including Zero Carbon Capital and Cambridge Enterprise. The new funding will scale production in Cardiff bringing skilled green jobs to the area.

Cement is one of the world’s hardest sectors to decarbonise, responsible for approximately 7% of global CO₂ emissions – roughly three times those of aviation. The vast majority arise from producing clinker, cement’s key ingredient, with most of its emissions 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 is able to turn it back into clinker inside the electric arc furnaces (EAFs) already used to recycle steel – producing new cement and recycled steel simultaneously. Crucially the process requires 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 as the technology scales – at cost parity with conventional cement.

Reclinker has already made thousands of tonnes at 7 Steel UK’s site and secured its first commercial sales; those first sales tap directly into surging commercial demand. Blast-furnace slag, long used to make low-carbon cement blends, is disappearing fast as steelmakers move away from blast furnaces, leaving concrete producers short of the low-carbon materials they increasingly need. Reclinker’s product steps straight into that gap.

Reclinker’s solution 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 5 years.

Beyond Cardiff, the funding will support replication across additional electric arc furnace sites in Europe and the US.

Bill Yost, CEO of Reclinker remarked:

“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.”

Stephen Price, Investment Partner at Clean Growth Fund, said:

“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.”