Hot Imperial startup ceases operations
Carbon capture startup Cyanoskin announced on Tuesday 7th October that it was “closing its doors”, citing “a misalignment between the product’s performance and the commercial requirements”.
Cyanoskin was co-founded in 2023 by Antoinette Nothomb, then a MSc Management student at the Imperial Business School, and Emma Money from the Royal College of Arts. They began their venture at Imperial’s Climate Entrepreneurs Club.
Cyanoskin’s eponymous product is an algae-based coating designed to be painted on the outside walls of buildings, where it absorbs ambient CO2. In May, a test panel had been installed on the rooftop of Scale Space, Imperial’s innovation hub in White City.
Cyanoskin took the top prize in the Venture Catalyst Challenge 2024, and was valued at £3,600,000 following its latest pre-seed funding round, according to Nothomb, Cyanoskin’s COO.
“Unfortunately, we recently discovered that there’s limits on the carbon absorption of Cyanoskin that would just make it commercially unviable,” said Money, the startup’s CEO.
“Things don’t always go to plan, but one thing’s for sure: We’ll be back,” Nothomb shared in a LinkedIn post.
The company did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
