A UK-based start-up, co-founded by Monash University PhD graduate Dr Rajan Lakshman, has secured £150,000 in seed funding from Carbon13 Ventures to commercialise technology developed at Monash.
The company is pioneering a world-first catalytic process that converts captured CO₂ and renewable hydrogen directly into acetic acid, offering a carbon-negative alternative to fossil-based production.
Every year, the world produces around 20 million tonnes of acetic acid, a key chemical used in plastics, textiles, paints, adhesives and food products, almost entirely from fossil fuels.
COOloop's world-first Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) catalyst enables direct CO₂ conversion, potentially eliminating millions of tonnes of carbon emissions while remaining cost-and scale-competitive with traditional methods.
The research behind COOloop's technology was developed by Professor Akshat Tanksale and his team at Monash University, supported by the Faculty of Engineering's Research Accelerator Award in 2019.
Working through the COVID-19 lockdowns, the team invented a novel iron-based catalyst that converts CO₂ and methanol into acetic acid, replacing expensive noble metals. This work was published in Nature Communications in 2023. The team then developed a cobalt-nickel bimetallic catalyst capable of producing acetic acid directly from CO₂, eliminating the need for methanol as an intermediate.
COOloop co-founder and CEO Ike Omambala said the partnership with Monash is key to commercial success.
"At COOloop, we're turning carbon from a liability into a valuable resource. Partnering with Professor Akshat Tanksale's group at Monash allows us to bring cutting-edge, world-first catalysis from the lab into industrial reality. This collaboration shows how science and entrepreneurship can build a circular carbon economy and accelerate the transition to net-zero chemicals."
COOloop co-founder and CTO, Dr Rajan Lakshman, a Monash PhD graduate under the supervision of Professors Tanksale and Alan Chaffee, reflected on moving research into industry. "During my PhD at Monash University, I worked on developing new ways to convert carbon dioxide – one of the world's most significant greenhouse gases – into valuable chemicals. My research focused on transforming carbon dioxide into acetic acid, and our first breakthrough catalyst led to a patent filing," Dr Lakshma said.
"It's incredibly exciting to see this work now gaining real-world momentum through the formation of our spin-off company. COOloop represents an opportunity to take this technology beyond the lab and towards industrial application, with the potential to make a global impact on sustainable chemical production."
COOloop will continue to collaborate with Monash University to make the process economically viable and industrially scalable.
Professor Akshat Tanksale highlighted the broader potential of the technology. "I am thrilled to see our research translated into practice by COOloop. Negative carbon technologies are essential for achieving net-zero emissions. Starting with acetic acid, COOloop's world-first technology could be a platform for other chemical applications, and our team will continue working with the company to demonstrate feasibility at scale."
