16 September 2021, Kannonkoski, Finland: The material technology company Betolar raised EUR 5 million from Finnish and international investors in its recently closed round of funding to speed up its product development work and strengthen its market position. The largest investors in the financing round were Nidoco, Kiilto Ventures, Ahti Invest and Kilo Invest.
“With this significant capital injection, we will be able to further increase our strong product development and industrial market openings in Betolar's current development phase. It is great that professional, value-added investors have recognised our potential, and are involved in supporting this very important work to reduce CO2 emissions from construction”, says Matti Löppönen, CEO of Betolar Oy.
Betolar offers low-carbon construction solutions that do not increase costs compared to current alternatives.
“This year, we have already agreed and are currently agreeing on several cooperation projects with companies related to construction materials.”
Betolar’s sustainable development is supported by identifiable capital
The main investor in the investment round was Nidoco AB from Sweden. Nidoco is an independent part of the Virala Group, which is owned by Alexander and Albert Ehrnrooth. Nidoco has also expressed an interest in participating in future funding rounds.
“Betolar is a very interesting investment, as the global market for construction materials is hundreds of billions of euros, even a fraction of which creates room for massive growth. Betolar's Geoprime technology solution will change the environmental impact of construction materials in a positive way. We want our capital to support the journey of such companies to the international market”, says Patrick Castrén, CEO of Nidoco, justifying Nidoco's participation in the investment round.
Kiilto Ventures is part of Kiilto, owned by the Solja family. Kiilto Ventures' goal is to find innovations and enter into partnerships that support Kiilto's strategic goal to be the environmental leader in its field.
“Kiilto is a family-owned company with a hundred years of history and a vision looking ahead to 2080. We are very competitive at the moment, but the world is changing fast. We need to have tomorrow's perspective and that is why we do innovation work on many levels. Developing the environmental responsibility of the construction industry is one of the most important trends for the future”, says Ville Solja, Chief Business Development Officer at Kiilto.
Solja also sees opportunities for business cooperation with Betolar. In addition to construction, the solutions range from industrial adhesives and fire protection to professional hygiene and consumer products.
“We have complementary know-how and a common value base in our environmental thinking, on which it is good to build together. In addition to an attractive capital investment, we find the opportunity to develop low-carbon solutions together very interesting”, Solja says.
Betolar's low-carbon solution replaces cement
Betolar has developed a low-carbon Geoprime® solution to replace cement in cement-based construction materials. The solution utilises material side streams from various industries as binders and aggregates for construction materials.
Geoprime® solutions utilise extensive research data from different side streams. Betolar's business is to produce a new type of recipe for the needs of the construction materials industry, which does not require significant changes to existing production processes. In the production process, binders and aggregates are replaced by materials from industrial side streams.
Betolar has implemented successful material technology solutions for the concrete industry, for example, for the production of environmentally friendly paving stones. The selection of possible product groups ranges from fine chemistry products to large mass product groups.
“Significant environmental benefits arise in two ways. Firstly, replacing cement with materials from industrial side streams will drastically cut CO2 emissions from the raw material, to as much as one-fifth of current levels. Secondly, the use of side streams in the production of construction materials significantly reduces the use of virgin natural resources”, says Juha Leppänen, the Founder of Betolar, who is responsible for Betolar's innovations.
About Betolar
Betolar is a Finnish material technology company that offers sustainable and low-carbon concrete production with Geoprime®. The solution converts several previously unused large scale industrial side streams into a substitute for cement.
By optimising existing manufacturing processes, Betolar's AI-based innovation can significantly reduce CO2 emissions compared to traditional cement-based concrete production. Betolar’s mission is to enable the green transformation of various industries globally, especially in the construction, process and energy industries by providing solutions to utilise its unique materials technology.