Stirling-based iGii secures €26.5 million to commercialise its proprietary carbon nanomaterial

iGii, a Stirling-based DeepTech advanced materials company behind the proprietary carbon nanomaterial Gii, today announced €26.49 million (£22.7 million) in new funding to accelerate the commercialisation and industrial adoption of its technology. 

The round comprises a €13.65 million (£11.7 million) Series B investment led by the Scottish National Investment Bank, with additional backing from PXN Ventures and Archangels, and €12.84 million (£11 million) from Scottish Enterprise.

Jean-Christophe Granier, CEO of iGii, said, “Every industrial revolution has been enabled by a breakthrough in materials, and this funding means iGii can help enable the next one. We’ve spent years proving what Gii can do and building the manufacturing capability to take it from scientific breakthrough to industrial reality. 

“To now have the Scottish National Investment Bank, PXN, Archangels and Scottish Enterprise backing the next stage of iGii is a tremendous endorsement of what this team has built and the opportunity ahead of us. This investment accelerates the commercialisation of Gii – expanding what the material can enable and allowing us to work with some of the world’s biggest manufacturers to turn those capabilities into differentiated products and long-term relationships.”

Founded in 2016, iGii has developed Gii, a proprietary three-dimensional porous carbon nanomaterial, grown rather than mined or compounded, using a process that runs at room temperature and scales to industrial volumes.

The company states that the same material can perform across many applications and industries, giving manufacturers a high-performance material platform to differentiate their next-generation products.

Highlighting the growing pressure on global supply chains, as well as constrained access to critical materials such as platinum and gold due to concentrated supply and geopolitical uncertainty, the Scottish startup noted that these challenges have sharpened the debate around material sovereignty. 

It further opined that the UK Government’s industrial strategy places advanced materials at the centre of efforts to rebuild domestic manufacturing capability. Together, that raises the value of materials that can deliver greater performance while reducing reliance on constrained supply, says iGii. 

 iGii claims that Gii integrates with a wide range of biological, chemical and physical systems, unlocking capabilities conventional materials cannot achieve. It states that the same material can be used across many different applications and industries, and enables products in multiple markets, including multi-analyte sensing, microheaters, and flexible printed battery electrodes.

Adrian Gillespie, Scottish Enterprise Chief Executive, said, “iGii’s technology is an exciting, sustainable and scalable alternative to constrained raw materials which will help build resilience in global supply chains. Its wide variety of applications across many high-growth industries has the potential to position Scotland at the forefront of advanced materials innovation.

“This funding package demonstrates how Scotland’s innovation partners get behind the biggest growth opportunities, combining private investment, patient capital and targeted public sector support to help ambitious businesses scale.

“DeepTech companies often require long-term backing to bridge the gap between breakthrough research and commercial success, and that is where strategic funding can make a real difference to early success.”

With manufacturing capacity already capable of supporting large-scale production runs across multiple industries, iGii plans to use the investment to move from years of R&D into execution. It aims to expand what Gii can enable while scaling the capability required to support adoption by the world’s biggest manufacturers. Over the next 12-24 months, the focus will be on deepening those engagements and converting existing relationships into long-term supply agreements.

The investment will also support continued growth across iGii’s team, which is set to reach nearly 70 by the end of the year. The company currently employs 55 Integrators, including 17 PhDs.          

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