Clean-tech investors get their shares

Media release - CarbonScape

Clean-tech investors get their shares

January 14, 2015: Investors in New Zealand’s largest equity crowd-funding offer have received their shares today.

Cleantech company CarbonScape, whose revolutionary processes include technology to make carbon-neutral coke for the steel industry, raised $764,302 through an offer on the Snowball Effect platform late last year.

The 207 investors receive between them just over 3.8 million 20-cent ordinary voting shares.

The offer exceeded its target of $400,000 by more than $364,000, and is the largest equity crowd-funding raise in New Zealand, passing the $700,000 raised on the Snowball Effect by Marlborough’s Renaissance Brewing earlier in the year.

Investments from the CarbonScape offer ranged from $1000 to $50,000, with an average size of $3845.

CarbonScape’s pioneering technology uses microwaves to short-circuit the carbon cycle, achieving in minutes what nature takes millions of years to do.

The Marlborough-based company has a contract to supply its Green Coke to the New Zealand Steel mill at Glenbrook, south of Auckland, and will use the funds to build a continuous production plant.

It also has a memorandum of understanding with New Zealand Steel’s parent company, BlueScope, to take Green Coke to the international steel industry.

The company has patented a range of other products that can be made with the process, including activated carbon (used for purifying food, air and water), chemicals and syngas.

CarbonScape executive director Tim Langley says that the company is pleased with the result of the fund-raising.

“Listing on Snowball lifted the company’s profile enormously,” he said.

“Investment is the lifeblood of start-ups, and we are now getting continuous investment interest. CarbonScape is launched.”

Snowball Effect’s head of platform and investor growth, Josh Daniell, says that the success of CarbonScape’s offer shows that the public is keen to invest in high-risk, high-reward ventures.

"Snowball Effect was particularly pleased by the level of international exposure that CarbonScape received as a result of its offer, and we look forward to continuing the relationship and supporting CarbonScape with future capital requirements if required,” he said.

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