Nanomox secures £2.4M to commercialise ionic liquid metals
UK materials innovator Nanomox, a spinout from Imperial College London, has raised £2.4 million to scale its technology that converts hazardous steelmaking dust into high‑value ionic liquid metals. The seed funding will support pilot projects with industry partners and accelerate the company’s path to commercial deployment.
Transforming EAF dust into a valuable resource
The company focuses on dust generated by electric arc furnaces (EAF), a key component of modern, lower‑carbon steel production. This fine particulate waste, rich in zinc, lead and other metals, is currently expensive to handle and often ends up in energy‑intensive processing streams or landfill.
Nanomox uses proprietary ionic liquid chemistry to selectively dissolve and extract these metals at relatively low temperatures. The result is a suite of ionic liquid metals and metal compounds that can be reused in sectors such as advanced coatings, batteries, and specialty alloys, turning what was once a liability into a revenue stream for steelmakers.
Decarbonisation and circular economy benefits
The technology directly addresses two of the steel industry’s biggest challenges: reducing CO₂ emissions and cutting industrial waste. By recovering metals from EAF dust on-site or near-site, Nanomox aims to reduce the need for long-distance transport and high‑temperature smelting, lowering both costs and environmental impact.
For regulators and customers demanding cleaner supply chains, the process offers a route to more traceable, circular metal flows. The extracted metals can displace primary mining in some applications, supporting broader resource efficiency and circular economy goals across the metals and manufacturing sectors.
Scaling pilots with global steel producers
The new capital will be used to expand laboratory capacity, build demonstration‑scale units and deepen collaborations with major steel producers. Nanomox plans to validate performance at industrial scale, optimise process economics and prepare licensing and deployment models that can be rolled out across multiple EAF sites.
As steelmakers worldwide invest in decarbonisation technologies, solutions that monetise waste while reducing emissions are gaining strategic importance. With fresh funding and academic roots at Imperial College London, Nanomox is positioning itself as a key enabler of cleaner, more circular metal production.