Mimicrete sets up first commercial pilot for self-healing concrete
Mimicrete, the Cambridge University materials science start-up, announces its maiden commercial pilot with JP Concrete to advance the development of its proprietary self-healing concrete.
The material, which leverages work conducted within the University of Cambridge’s geotechnical and environmental research group, extends the useful life of new infrastructure and construction projects while greatly reducing unnecessary costs and carbon emissions.
Mimicrete was incorporated in Cambridge in June 2021 by three female founders – Arta Selmani, CEO, Dr Lívia Ribeiro De Souza, CTO, and Dr Liz Zijing Li, COO.
“When the Cambridge team approached us to collaborate on Mimicrete’s exciting new research, we were delighted to be involved in advancing this technology,” says Vignesh Daas, director at JP Concrete Products, which has been supplying precast concrete products to civils, construction and agricultural sectors since 2007.
“The support from Innovate UK allows Mimicrete to continue developing the research into the vascular system for self-healing and provides a platform for commercialisation,” says Dr Lívia Ribeiro De Souza, CTO at Mimicrete and postdoc researcher at the University of Cambridge.
The three female founders, along with deep-tech venture builder Cambridge Future Tech (CFT), developed a unique approach to disrupt the £800bn global concrete market, which accounts for up to 8 per cent of annual carbon emissions today. The UK spends £51bn annually on maintaining infrastructure, the most significant use of concrete products.
“With innovation like Mimicrete’s we can help de-carbonise the construction industry by using less concrete, cutting ongoing maintenance expenditures, yearly carbon emissions and reducing the overall environmental impact,” says Arta Selmani, CEO at Mimicrete.
With funding from the prestigious Innovate UK smart grant scheme and backing from US-based Venture Investors such as Vest Coast Capital and Leonas Capital, Mimicrete is well positioned to deliver against its near-term R&D and commercialisation plans.
Vest Coast Capital is a boutique investment and advisory firm based in Silicon Valley and New York. Leonas (Spanish for ‘lioness’) Capital is a boutique capital and advisory firm comprised of female founders who back female-founded and run companies.
“An InnovateUK grant and US venture investment really helps Mimicrete bring this research to fruition and increase our viability,” said Dr Liz Zijing Li, COO at Mimicrete and PhD from the University of Cambridge.
The company intends to target select markets within the construction and infrastructure sector, where Mimicrete’s value proposition provides a distinct competitive advantage.
“Mimicrete’s technology improves the structural performance of concrete infrastructure and minimises carbon impact,” says George Neville-Jones, CFO and co-founder at Cambridge Future Tech, a venture builder supporting Mimicrete.
