Quantuma selected for administration of cleantech firm Carbon8 Systems

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage firm Carbon8 Systems has fallen into administration. Quantuma’s Chris Newell and Jo Leach were appointed as joint administrators to oversee the process. 

With higher interest rates and some delays from government tax credit support, cleantech businesses have found that winning investments from private equity and infrastructure funds has become more difficult. As a result, recent years have seen a number of businesses which once easily raised money from venture firms collapse. In 2024, for example, Moxion Power, a battery start-up that raised funds from Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, filed for bankruptcy. So too did SunPower, a publicly traded US solar company controlled by oil major Total of France. 

Continuing the trend is Carbon8 Systems – a UK-based firm founded in 2006 as a spin-out from the University of Greenwich. The company focused on research and experimental development within natural sciences and engineering – and developed accelerated carbonation technology (ACT) – a patented process it said can capture CO2 emissions and convert them into carbon-negative aggregates. These aggregates, marketed under the CircaBuild brand, could then be used in construction as sustainable alternatives to traditional materials, helping hard-to-abate industries reduce emissions and landfill waste.

With the business facing cashflow challenges while seeking investment, the company instructed Quantuma to provide advisory support in April 2025. However, efforts to secure investment ultimately proved fruitless, and the board has subsequently decided to place the company into administration.

The move saw the company’s sites closed, with 11 employees becoming redundant. Looking ahead, the joint administrators from Quantuma will look to sell Carbon8 Systems’ remaining assets.

Quantuma Managing Director Chris Newell commented, “It is always difficult to see a company with such innovative intellectual property (IP) be placed into administration. I expect there to be strong appeal in the assets and any parties interested in the acquisition of the IP are welcomed to make contact with us.”