We are very excited to be sharing news about our syndicated investment into Liquium, a spin-out from Victoria University of Wellington also supported by the MacDiarmid Institute.
A newly formed spin-out company from Wellington UniVentures has successfully closed their $1.5M Seed venture capital investment round. This round was led by Matū Karihi, with co-investors Booster Innovation Fund, Climate VC Fund, K1W1, AngelHQ, and a private angel investor. This investment round will support the company as they scale up the technology out from the lab, preparing for beachhead market engagement.
Liquium is a clean-tech company developing new catalysts which dramatically reduce the energy required to produce ammonia, resulting in lower capital expenditure costs to build plants, as well as lower greenhouse gas emissions than other technologies on the market. Ammonia is widely used across a range of industries, and its production currently accounts for around 2-3% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. The novel technology being developed by Liquium seeks to broaden the utility of ammonia, first targeting the marine shipping industry as a leader in low-carbon fuel, with a long-term strategy to engage with multi-billion dollar industrial plants across farming, energy, and industrial sectors.
The technology is developed out of research originating from Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Chemical and Physical Sciences and the MacDiarmid Institute, led by A/Prof Franck Natali and Dr Jay Chan. They are joined by Dr Paul Geraghty as CEO, rounding out a strong technical and commercial leadership team, which will grow as the company continues on their development pathway. The investors look forward to working with the team closely to support their growth and guide the development of Liquium as it continues to expand its presence in the clean energy space.
About Wellington UniVentures – Wellington UniVentures is the Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington company responsible for creating new for-profit and social enterprises from University research. Building on our purpose to lift lives everywhere with knowledge, Wellington UniVentures works with our University innovators to shape their research into initiatives that create impact. We do this by connecting them with partners, industry and investors to enable the growth and development of their idea or invention. With time, development and Wellington UniVentures’ support, these ideas can become life changing initiatives focused on solving problems and building stronger societies. www.wellingtonuniventures.nz
About Matū Karihi Fund – Matū is a venture capital fund investing in early-stage science and technology commercialisation from education and research institutions and the private sector. As an open and evergreen fund, Matū takes a long-term investment view and is aimed at turning ground-breaking ideas into globally focused, IP-rich companies. Matū provides intelligent capital with active governance, executive management, operational support, and mentorship for founding and executive teams: www.matu.co.nz
About Booster – Booster is one of the six government-appointed default KiwiSaver scheme providers with over 170,000 investors and $5 billion under management across KiwiSaver, Superannuation and Investment Schemes. Booster has a focus on supporting New Zealand businesses through specialist investment funds including the Booster Innovation Fund and the New Zealand Innovation Booster, which help Kiwis share in the success of innovative research and IP development by investing in the commercialisation of early-stage technologies coming out of New Zealand. www.booster.co.nz
About the Climate VC Fund – Climate VC Fund is part of 2040 Ventures, set up to invest in early stage companies with the potential to deliver high growth and material reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The fund aims to help mitigate climate change while delivering attractive commercial returns to investors. www.climatevcfund.com
About K1W1 – K1W1 invests in New Zealand start-ups and early stage companies. Established by Sir Stephen Tindall, K1W1 has invested more than $150 million in companies across sectors such as biotech, environmental technology, electronics, software, and other high export potential businesses.
About AngelHQ – AngelHQ is the Wellington Region’s angel investment network, connecting high net worth investors with early stage companies. AngelHQ has a strong focus on the technology sector, and has over 90 current members and a portfolio of over 100 past and current investment companies.
