SOSE makes investment to help create £1bn South of Scotland business
Ambitious plans to create a £1billion company in the South of Scotland have been backed by the region's economic and community development agency.
The near-£1million investment by South of Scotland Enterprise in pioneering carbon capture facility The Carbon Removers is kickstarting a fundraising drive which will accelerate the expansion of the business across the UK and Europe.
Our early investment aims to unlock a wider investment round which will continue this expansion, and ultimately lead to the South of Scotland business generating an annual revenue of £1billion by 2034/35.
The Carbon Removers plans on removing one million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030 by expanding carbon sequestering projects.
Background on The Carbon Removers
- Headquartered near Dumfries, The Carbon Removers actively capture carbon dioxide from biogas and the whisky industry and are now expanding into Europe.
- Founded by brothers Ed and Richard Nimmons, The Carbon Removers are the only UK company granted a storage licence to permanently remove carbon from Denmark and the EU’s first CO2 storage facility.
- Our plans to convert a loan to an equity share in The Carbon Removers, will help the South of Scotland to continue its transition to Net Zero, particularly for the agriculture, whisky and bioenergy sectors based in the region.
- It also provides significant business and market growth potential for the region, and reinforces the growing reputation of the South of Scotland as the place to do business.
The announcement has been made on the eve of a Scottish Parliament reception on Wednesday 7 January which will celebrate the successes of South of Scotland businesses.
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said:
"Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is of the utmost importance to Scotland's climate and economic transition to net zero – without it we couldn’t reduce emissions from the hardest to abate sectors including chemicals, cement and certain aspects of power generation.
“CCS uses many of the same skills as the oil and gas industry and will continue skilled employment across the supply chain.
"It's great to see SOSE supporting a home grown company leading the charge both here and in Europe.
“This will create further jobs and boost the economy both for the region and across Scotland.”
Richard Nimmons, Co-Founder of The Carbon Removers, said:
“The Carbon Removers is delighted to expand our close working relationship with SOSE and the region.
“We are proud to be based in the South of Scotland and are excited to grow our carbon capture skills internationally.”
Russel Griggs, Chair of SOSE, said:
“We have worked closely with The Carbon Removers from the beginning of their journey, which included playing a vital role in the roll-out of the COVID Pfizer vaccine.
“They have now grown and diversified into carbon removal and storage internationally - all from their original site in the tiny village of Crocketford, where they continue to be based.
“They have demonstrated that a rural location should be no barrier to innovation, and we look forward to seeing The Carbon Removers continue to grow and prosper.”
Martin Valenti, SOSE’s Director of Investment and Sustainable Enterprise, said:
“We want to unlock ambition at every level – which is why we are backing The Carbon Removers team and their aim to generate £1bn per year.
“With the South of Scotland being the nation’s Natural Capital Innovation Zone, we see companies such as The Carbon Removers as vital to helping drive forward innovation and also helping attract responsible investment to benefit our region, and the rest of Scotland.”