Cocoon, established in Cohort 5 of our Cambridge Venture Builder programme, is on a mission to decarbonise the cement industry (responsible for about 8% of planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions).

200 million tonnes of steel slag are produced each year (and growing), and there already exists the infrastructure and logistics network for moving this material; but it’s under utilized. With Cocoon, steel manufacturers improve their bottom line and sustainability efforts, whilst the cement and concrete industry secures a consistent supply of low carbon material to reduce cement usage and decarbonize.

Led by co-founders Eliot Brooks, Will Knapp, and Freddie Scott, Cocoon offers modular technology that turns the by-product of green steel into a low-emissions substitute for cement making it possible for the steel and concrete industries to decarbonize faster together. The team, which left our programme just under ten months ago, combines expertise in geology, engineering, and materials science. Cocoon is collaborating with a number of cement manufacturers to validate their slag-based cementitious material and will complete construction of a demo with a UK steel plant by the end of 2024, supported in part by $1 million in grants from Innovate UK.

Cocoon Co-founders: Eliot Brooks, Will Knapp, and Freddie Scott at the ceremonial closing of cohort 5 of the Venture Builder Programme from Cambridge in November 2023.