Nanomox, a pioneer of sustainable production and recovery processes for inorganic materials, today announced completion of a £2.4 million seed investment round, consisting of a mix of equity and grants.
Led by TSP Ventures and Boast Trading LLC, the round also saw participation from Imperial College Enterprise Fund 3, SNØCAP VC, the Circular Innovation Fund, EIT RawMaterials and UK angel investors.
"Our unique ionic liquid platform can create nanoparticles tuned for high performance in high value applications. With the same platform we can recover valuable raw materials from waste sources and mineral ores." Dr Francisco Malaret CEO of Nanomox
Nanomox, which was founded at Imperial in 2020, has developed a breakthrough approach to the sustainable production of precisely engineered advanced materials and recovery of valuable resources like zinc, manganese and copper from waste sources and mineral ores.
The company will use the funding to build a first-of-its-kind commercial pilot plant and R&D facility – Catalyst 1 – enabling it to dramatically scale production of its first commercial materials and further develop its platform technology for resource recovery from waste streams.
Mike Doswell, co-founder at TSP Ventures, said, "We are delighted to continue our investment in Nanomox by co-leading this seed round as the company enters an exciting phase of growth. Nanomox is commercialising advanced materials while advancing the core technology to process industrial residues and legacy waste that represents an underused resource with major economic and environmental value. Nanomox is entering the market with a scalable, low-carbon platform designed to unlock that value by both producing high-performance materials and recovering critical minerals."
Sustainable production of advanced materials
Nanomox has developed and validated a proprietary process based on ionic liquid chemistry that enables the production of metal oxide particles precisely tailored for high performance in applications that range from UV protection to electronics and catalysis. The tuneable process is low energy, operates under mild conditions, and offers exquisite control of particle properties such as size, shape and crystallinity.
As Dr Malaret explains, "The control our process offers over particle morphology means we can meet demanding performance requirements. We're looking to apply this ability across a range of industries, beginning with our world-leading zinc oxide crystals for UV protection."
Best in class transparency
Nanomox has developed tailored zinc oxide (ZnO) crystals for use in mineral-based sunscreens – an emerging category in UV protection favoured by those with sensitive skin and customers looking to avoid exposure to synthetic organic UV filters. While ZnO has been used in sunscreen for many years, traditional formulations leave a white residue on skin that consumers dislike.
Nanomox has created advanced ZnO crystals that block UV light with high specificity, designed to address current limitations and lead the development of a new generation of mineral-based sunscreens. Nanomox's current products have achieved record-level transparency in independent laboratory evaluation, with further optimisation underway. A first product launch is planned for Q3 2026.
With its new funding, which includes support from the Innovate UK Investor Partnerships programme, Nanomox is building a commercial pilot plant to scale production capacity to tonnes per month, enough to supply partners in the cosmetics industry.
Green Chemistry, circularity and future development
Nanomox's unique ionic liquid process enables extraction of metals like zinc, manganese, copper and rare earth elements from mineral ores and industrial waste streams like spent batteries, mining tailings and waste from steel production processes. The latter of these is particularly promising, with zinc-rich electric arc furnace dust a key target for the company. Nanomox estimates the zinc contained within this waste stream, which is widely disposed of rather than recycled, could be worth up to $9 billion.
"At Circular Innovation Fund, we partner with founders who share our vision for a more resource-efficient economy. Nanomox's approach to recovering zinc from industrial waste demonstrates the kind of scalable, sustainable innovation Europe needs to strengthen its circular value chains," said Stéphane Villecroze, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Demea Sustainable Investment, and Andrée-Lise Méthot, Founder & Managing Partner, Cycle Capital
Roots at Imperial
Nanomox was founded to develop discoveries made by Dr Malaret during his PhD in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London.
Based in the Imperial Incubator for a little over two years, the company aims to remain within the Imperial ecosystem as it scales its production capabilities.
"It's important for us because of the collaboration opportunities it offers, and because of the ongoing support we receive from across Imperial," said Dr Malaret. "We're actively working with scientists at Imperial, we've grown within this ecosystem, and we plan to use our new plant as an R&D hub for years to come."
In its earliest days, Nanomox was supported by the Department of Chemical Engineering's ChemEng Enterprise programme at Imperial College London, as well as Imperial Enterprise Lab and Imperial Venture Mentoring—providing access to world-class labs, commercial guidance, and expert mentorship that helped accelerate time to market. The company also took part in Cohort 1 of The Greenhouse, a cleantech accelerator programme managed by Undaunted.
