Environmentally friendly cement company Novacem is issuing a ‘green cement bond’ in the hope of raising £1 million.

Environmentally friendly cement company Novacem is issuing a ‘green cement bond’ to raise £1 million.

Paris-headquartered materials group Lafarge is the first subscriber to the bond, which will help Novacem raise money to accelerate the development and commercialism of its ‘carbon negative cement’.

Novacem’s backer London Technology Fund (LTF) expects that subscribers to the cement bond will also participate in a round of Series A funding being planned by the company.

Subscribers will also work with Novacem to develop a ‘semi-commercial’ cement plant producing up to 25,000 tonnes a year, and will be given early access to the output of the plant for testing, certification and sales.

LTF was joint lead in a syndicate which last year invested more than £1 million in Novacem, a spin-out from Imperial College London.

The cement bond consists of a combination of non-refundable engineering fees and convertible loan notes.

Novacem’s ‘carbon negative’ cement is based on magnesium oxide. The company claims that more carbon dioxide is absorbed than emitted during its production.