PeroCycle

A Cambridge-based young company, spun out of University of Birmingham research, developing a way to recycle carbon inside steelmaking and so cut its emissions.

About PeroCycle

PeroCycle is working on a way to cut the carbon dioxide released by steelmaking. Steel is made in huge furnaces that give off carbon dioxide. The company is developing a closed-loop system in which a special catalyst and reactor, based on a material type called perovskite, turn carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide so that the carbon can be used again in the process instead of escaping into the air. The idea is to add this to existing steel plants rather than replace them, which could make cleaner steel possible sooner.

The company describes its aim as to "decarbonise steel from within", cutting emissions from steelmaking equipment that is already in use. The technology builds on research by Professor Yulong Ding and Dr Harriet Kildahl at the University of Birmingham. PeroCycle was spun out by the University of Birmingham and Cambridge Future Tech, a deep tech company builder, and the mining company Anglo American worked with it on commercialising the technology and has invested. A spin-out is a company created to turn university research into a product.

PeroCycle is based in Cambridge, UK, according to a Cambridge Network news item from 2025, with research roots in Birmingham. We did not find an office address or details of laboratory or pilot sites. In August 2025 it appointed Grant Budge as chief executive. He has about 30 years of experience leading carbon capture projects and advising on decarbonisation in energy and heavy industry. The announcement also said the company was expanding its technical and commercial team, but gave no more details about who is on it.

This is an early-stage company, and little has been published about its day-to-day culture or its size, so we do not describe it. The pages we read give the mission, the research origin and the new chief executive, but no first-hand accounts from staff. It is included here because it is a UK start-up aiming at one of the toughest manufacturing problems, and because its story shows how university research, venture builders and large industrial companies can work together.

For a student, a company like this combines chemistry, materials science, chemical and process engineering, and business skills. Researchers test catalysts in the lab, engineers design reactors that work at industrial scale, and commercial staff work with steelmakers to prove it on a real plant. If you care about climate and like practical science, steel is a good place to look, because it is used in buildings, cars, bridges and machines, and the industry needs new ideas to cut emissions. Because the firm is new, roles may change quickly as the work moves from lab to plant.

What they do

• {'desc': 'A catalyst and reactor that turn carbon dioxide back into carbon monoxide for reuse.', 'title': 'Carbon recycling for steel'}
• {'desc': 'Designed to fit existing steelmaking plants.', 'title': 'Retrofit approach'}
• {'desc': 'Works with Anglo American on commercialising the technology.', 'title': 'Industrial partnerships'}

Key facts

• Based in Cambridge, UK; chief executive Grant Budge appointed August 2025
• Technology builds on University of Birmingham research by Professor Yulong Ding and Dr Harriet Kildahl
• Spun out by the University of Birmingham and Cambridge Future Tech
• Mission: to decarbonise steel from within

Website: www.perocycle.com