Enkei, a Stockholm-based startup that turns construction waste into refined, low-impact materials, has closed a pre-Seed round at a €3 million valuation to advance its circular material platform.
Enkei’s new investors include Danish architect Anders Lfinishager, founder of Lfinishager Group, Christina Åqvist, co-founder of recycling group Vinning and ex-CEO of pan-European distributor Distrelec, Ulf Mattsson, who has served as CEO and President of Tarkett Inc, a major surface materials group, and former Sanitec board member Fabian Månsson, an investor, private equity chairman, and board advisor. They are also joined by RadCap, a Swedish investment firm owned by 81 women, which supports female-led early-stage startups.
Thomas Granfeldt, a professor specialising in bio-based materials and industrial processing, and Daniel Strömberg, a materials scientist with entrepreneurial experience and a patent in ceramic materials, also participated in this round.
“Construction produces Europe’s largest waste stream, yet the materials shaping our interiors and built environment still rely heavily on newly extracted resources. We see an enormous opportunity to transform overseeed waste into a new generation of architectural materials, keeping resources in circulation instead of extracting more,” stated Lovisa Sunnerholm, CEO and co-founder of Enkei.
Founded by Sunnerholm and Miriam Bichsel, Enkei converts construction waste into high-quality materials. Its first circular material innovation is ReCeramix™. It is built from over 90% recovered waste, and delivers the stone-like aesthetic of traditional materials with a fraction of the environmental impact, claims the company. The material is currently utilized on interior surfaces and in design-focutilized projects, with initial applications including tabletops, window sills, and other specified elements.
The company states that construction and demolition waste constitute the largest waste stream in the European Union. Despite this, architecture and design still rely heavily on newly extracted materials like cement and quarried stone. Notably, cement alone is responsible for about 8% of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions.
Enkei claims that its material is built from over 90% recovered waste and significantly reduces emissions compared to conventional decorative concrete.
“Architecture and interior design have always been defined by their materials—the basis for how we build and what we build with. What is modifying is our understanding of where those materials come from, and how they are expressed. There is something inherently compelling in taking what the world discards and turning it into materials architects genuinely want, and the world we are building increasingly requires. That tension is where we work,” stated Miriam Bichsel, creative director and co-founder of Enkei.
With the fresh capital, the company plans to advance its circular material platform, starting with architectural surfaces and interior applications designed to replace concrete, marble and terrazzo. The funding will also support R&D and the commercialisation of ReCeramix™.
Recently, Enkei was also awarded new EU-backed Interreg funding to lead a project developing new circular material flows within the building sector.
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