A CarbonCure truck in the field.
CarbonCureThe concrete industry has a huge footprint; the cement used to make concrete is responsible for up to 7% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. A company called CarbonCure makes a technology for concrete producers that introduces recycled CO2 into fresh concrete. The C02 is converted into a mineral and becomes permanently captured.
The Canadian startup says it's on a mission to save up to 500 megatonnes of CO2 emissions per year. As of this writing, a counter on its website is nearing 24,000 tonnes (or metric tons). CarbonCure says its tech is being used by more than 100 producers across North America, in concrete masonry and ready mixed concrete plants in the United States and Canada.
The company uses CO2 sourced from industrial emitters. The technology is retrofitted into existing concrete plants, and equipment injects the CO2 into a hopper or central mixer.
"Once injected into the wet concrete mix, the CO2 reacts with calcium ions from cement to form a nano-sized calcium carbonate mineral that becomes permanently embedded in the concrete," the Halifax, Nova Scotia, company explains on its website.
A CarbonCure valve box and gas tank.
CarbonCureThe end product is said to be just as durable as regular concrete, but without the high carbon footprint. The mineral that's left in the concrete actually makes it stronger, a company director tells CNN, allowing producers to use less cement and further reduce emissions.
A CarbonCure brochure notes that since the CO2 is chemically converted into solid calcium carbonate, and permanently embedded into the concrete, the gas won't escape when a concrete structure is demolished and pulverized, because it no longer exists.
The company is a finalist in a $20 million XPRIZE competition to convert CO₂ emissions into valuable products.
CarbonCure was founded in 2007 by Rob Niven, who had recently graduated with a master's in engineering from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Niven was reportedly inspired after he attended a United Nations summit on climate change.
Last year, the company closed a strategic round of investment led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which reportedly has more than $1 billion in committed capital.
The company is encouraging people to ask about using CarbonCure technology in their communities. The largest structure ever made with CarbonCure concrete is in Atlanta, Georgia. The 360,000-square-foot building is called 725 Ponce.
