Sustainable construction firm gets £3 million for Scotland's first carbon negative factory
The company is hoping to scale-up to 30 workers when the building is completed
John GloverBusiness reporter
The IndiNature team in its new 40,000 square foot building in Jedburgh (Image: Anna Mayumi Pultar)
Sign up to The Climate Agenda - the one-stop shop for green businesses and those fighting climate change
The Scottish National Investment Bank has provided £3m funding to help establish Scotland's first factory producing carbon negative insulation for homes and commercial properties.
Sustainable construction materials business IndiNature plans to open its new Borders manufacturing hub in summer 2022 and grow its workforce to 30.
It has developed a natural fibre insulation system called IndiBreathe, using hemp grown in the UK, that can be fitted both in new and retrofit building projects.
The bank's investment will enable the business to scale-up production at its new facility in Jedburgh and target both domestic and international markets.
IndiNature has also received £803,000 of grant funding by Zero Waste Scotland and £250,000 from South of Scotland Enterprise.
The company's project, IndiTherm, helps net carbon capture by absorbing more carbon than the emissions produced to manufacture it, as well as increasing the energy efficiency of the building where it is installed.
At capacity, IndiNature's new site will be able to capture a net 10,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year, which means that by 2050 the factory will have the equivalent impact on the climate crisis as planting more than five million trees.
The business claims its products can reduce the average new UK home's construction carbon footprint by 4.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Scottish National Investment Bank backs Forev with £2 million
Eilidh Mactaggart, chief executive of the Scottish National Investment Bank, said: "Decarbonisation of the industry is a critical element of Scotland's journey to net zero - IndiNature's innovative natural fibre insulation supports this journey in two clear ways, increasing energy efficiency of buildings and storing carbon within the insulating material itself.
"It was clear through working with IndiNature its products fundamentally supported the delivery of the bank's missions."
Scott Simpson, co-founder and chief executive at IndiNature, said: "We love using crops from UK farmers, it's so critical the world moves faster toward what's known as the circular bio-economy by using plants in products, to reduce waste and naturally capture carbon."
Don't miss the latest headlines with our twice-daily newsletter - sign up here for free.
Scottish space tech start-up receives £3.1 million seed funding
Scottish National Investment Bank is launched with first investment