PRESS RELEASE: CATAGEN Prepares for Next Phase of Growth with Funding Support from Whiterock
by | Feb 1, 2024 | Latest
February 1, 2024
CATAGEN PREPARES FOR NEXT PHASE OF GROWTH WITH FUNDING SUPPORT FROM WHITEROCK
Belfast-based net zero innovation company CATAGEN has received £1m of funding from the Growth Finance Fund which will be used to accelerate the growth of the business.
Finance for the £37.5m Growth Finance Fund – which can provide SMEs with loans up to £2m – is provided by the British Business Bank, Invest NI and private investors, the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC). The fund is managed by Whiterock Finance.
CATAGEN’s mission is to clean and decarbonise the air. Its cutting-edge net zero technologies are focused on helping hard to decarbonise sectors such as heavy industry, marine, aviation, mobility and agriculture to meet 2050 targets.
Founded over a decade ago by Dr Andrew Woods and Professor Roy Douglas, the company’s core business as a green emissions testing facility has seen it work with some of the world’s best known automotive brands to optimise catalytic convertor development and reduce harmful tailpipe emissions.
Over the past two years it has secured a combined £21.5m in project funding including seven awards by the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) to develop advanced climate technologies under its ClimaHtech brand, including Green Hydrogen and Biohydrogen Generators, E-fuel production, Hydrogen Compression and Carbon Capture.
Several of those funding awards require CATAGEN to match fund a percentage of the project value, meaning it has had to finance the costs of investing in new equipment and expanding its team before drawing down the funds.
Susan adds: “CATAGEN’s core business gives us a maturity that a lot of start-ups don’t have. A company like ours would traditionally have given away a material amount of its equity by this stage.
“When we want to make a decision in CATAGEN, the senior management team and board of directors make that decision and it’s enacted that week. We continue to look at options for taking investment, with the right partner and at the right time in our growth plan.
“We’re looking for innovative like-minded partners that can help us scale and add value. That’s what Whiterock have done. Our purpose is to clean and decarbonise the air and we always bring every decision back to that.”