Stockholm-based round supplies startup Enkei has raised €0.4 million in a pre-seed spherical at a €3 million valuation, led by Danish architect Anders Lendager, identified for the UN17 Village sustainability undertaking, alongside Christina Åqvist, co-founder of recycling group Vinning, and Ulf Mattsson, former CEO of floor supplies large Tarkett. Investor Fabian Månsson provides strategic steering from his in depth expertise in non-public equity-backed enterprises.
RadCap, a Swedish funding collective backed by 81 ladies, additionally joined the spherical, reinforcing help for female-founded ventures. The funding additionally contains backing from supplies specialists Thomas Granfeldt and Daniel Strömberg, bringing scientific and industrial depth to Enkei’s technical roadmap.
Past non-public funding, Enkei has secured €110,000 in EU grant funding by way of Interreg, a part of a cross-border collaborative initiative price round €430,000.
The recent capital will drive R&D acceleration and the industrial rollout of its flagship innovation, ReCeramix™, a round materials that transforms development and ceramic waste into design-grade architectural surfaces. The corporate additionally plans to refine manufacturing methods, increase use instances past interiors, and strengthen its provide chain to realize scalable influence.
Bridging design, robotics, and round engineering
Based in 2022 by Lovisa Sunnerholm and Miriam Bichsel, Enkei was born from the popularity that development is Europe’s largest waste-generating sector, and one of many least round. Regardless of producing practically 40% of EU waste, a lot of it’s downcycled or discarded totally.
ReCeramix™ addresses this by utilizing over 90% recycled development and ceramic waste to create architectural surfaces that rival concrete, marble, and terrazzo in look and efficiency. In contrast to many early-stage round ideas, ReCeramix™ is already in industrial deployment, featured in inside purposes together with tabletops, window sills, and bespoke installations.
Enkei provides, “What units us aside is that we improve waste into high-value architectural supplies, whereas constructing the complete system round it, from sourcing and manufacturing to market adoption. We additionally give attention to industrial viability from the beginning, making certain that round supplies can compete on worth, efficiency and design, which is crucial for scaling.”
Earlier than scaling into structure, Enkei validated ReCeramix™ by means of a line of lighting merchandise distributed by Nordiska Galleriet, NK Stockholm, and The Oblist in Paris. These items, now present in boutique accommodations like Ett Hem and artwork areas similar to Fotografiska, bridged the hole between design experimentation and materials proof of idea.
This early traction, mixed with recognition for sustainability from ELLE Ornament and Plaza Journal, positioned Enkei as probably the most promising Nordic gamers in round design innovation.
Scaling circularity for the constructed surroundings
The corporate’s mission goes past sustainability. Enkei is female-founded and majority-women-led, with ladies holding over 85% of the fairness.
The corporate states, “We’re a various crew throughout disciplines, together with engineering, design and manufacturing, with a robust gender steadiness and a world perspective. Our crew spans disciplines together with materials science, engineering, inside structure, provide chain administration, AI and model technique, with worldwide backgrounds throughout Europe.”
Trying forward three to 5 years, Enkei plans to evolve from small-scale validated merchandise to large-volume architectural supplies. In the long run, the corporate goals to construct a platform for round supplies, the place waste from present buildings turns into feedstock for future ones.
