The UK economy stood stagnant in June, following a return to growth in May, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). In line with expectations, GDP (gross domestic product), a key measure of economy growth, showed no growth month-on-month in June, following 0.4% growth in May, with quarterly growth of 0.6%. The monthly result reflects a fall in services output, offset by growth in both production and construction. Ben Jones, CBI Lead Economist, said: “After a strong performance in May, a slowdown in GDP growth was always on the cards for June. But a second successive quarter of above-trend growth suggests the UK economy has finally shaken off its slumber of recent years. “We think the quarterly data probably overstates the underlying momentum in the economy, with recent CBI surveys of activity remaining fairly subdued. But firms nonetheless appear confident that the recovery will continue. “After a challenging, few years, and ahead of the Autumn budget, the focus is shifting to the steps needed to raise the UK’s growth rate over the long-term. This could include the reforms set out in our recent business tax roadmap, which can incentivise private investment and together with a Net Zero Investment plan boost green growth, one of the fastest growing sectors in the country.”

A climate tech company that produces advanced materials for carbon capture and other uses has closed an £8m financing round. The investment was led by Mercia Ventures and Aramco Ventures, with participation from existing investors including the Midlands Engine Investment Fund I (Equity Finance fund, managed by Foresight), the University of Nottingham, TSP Ventures, and the East Midlands Early Growth Fund (managed by the British Business Bank). Promethean Particles is a chemical manufacturing company specialising in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), spun out from the University of Nottingham. The new investment will enable the Nottingham-based company to build a scaled-up manufacturing facility, expand the team, and implement further projects that demonstrate the potential of MOFs in energy transition applications. MOFs are a class of materials composed of metal ions interconnected by organic molecules to form a porous, lattice-like structure. Their unique architecture gives them an exceptionally high surface area and customizable pore sizes, which allows them to trap and store gases and liquids efficiently. This makes MOFs highly effective for applications such as gas storage and separation, carbon capture, and catalysis. The company has developed a proprietary continuous-flow reactor that not only dramatically improves the throughput and cost of MOF production, but also increases process reliability and consistency, without sacrificing critical quality parameters. Promethean currently produces a wide portfolio of MOFs for various customer applications including carbon capture and storage (CCS), biogas upgrading, water harvesting and gas separation and storage. “The closing of our Series A round represents a significant milestone in the company’s growth journey, and we are delighted to welcome Mercia and Aramco Ventures to the Promethean team,” said James Stephenson, chief executive officer of Promethean. “We are extremely grateful for the trust they have placed in us and are excited by their recognition of our business potential and the impact we can have on the world. It is increasingly evident that a viable carbon capture solution is required to help mitigate the effects of climate change. “MOFs show significant promise as a technological solution and Promethean’s manufacturing technology enables their production at unprecedented scale and cost-effectiveness. I couldn’t be prouder of the Promethean team for all that they have accomplished to help make this investment a reality.” Dr Marina Fuentes, investment manager at Mercia Ventures, said: “Promethean Particles is uniquely positioned to capitalise on the fast-growing MOF market through their innovative manufacturing reactor technology, which addresses the bottlenecks of cost and scalability. “We are thrilled to support a highly capable team and a cutting-edge technology that has been developed over 15 years and is now ripe for commercialisation at scale. We are also excited to partner with Aramco Ventures, whose strategic expertise will bring significant value to the Board.” Bruce Niven, head of strategic venturing at Aramco Ventures, said: “MOFs are an emerging class of materials with unique properties and wide-ranging applications including several in the energy transition domain. Promethean offers new capabilities to scale manufacturing of MOFs cost-effectively, which is a critical ingredient in unlocking the potential for these materials to gain widespread acceptance.”