NOVA by Saint-Gobain’s Post

I love concrete. It's the second most consumed material on earth after water and we use it in more ways than most of us realize. It can also be an important part of ensuring our buildings and communities are resilient to the risks posed by climate change. But making concrete is usually very carbon-intensive, so it's exciting to see these businesses that are leading the way in reducing the carbon footprint of a material that is so central to the way we live and work today. #builtenvironment #concrete #constructionindustry #climateaction #resilience

Sometimes people ask us about "the competition" when it comes to decarbonizing concrete. Here's what we think: Concrete is a high-volume product. It's laid down across the world in massive quantities, with massive emissions to match – and it's only growing. It's also heavy. Really *really* heavy, which means that it's made and used locally. This means that there is room for many players – and the climate needs as many to succeed as possible, as fast as possible. Some players in low-carbon cement and concrete will take longer to get to market than others. They have to build new plants for their advanced materials. To our friends in that space, we hope that all hurdles are cleared with lightning speed. The world needs you. And we have friends in the space like us: solutions that work now or in the near term. Those of us in that camp need to scale our impact ASAP. Thank you, Canary Media Inc., for digging deep into this portfolio of solutions to the #lowcarbonconcrete challenge. Let's get it done Sublime Systems, Terra CO2 Technology, Brimstone , Prometheus Materials, and Fortera! Honored to be in such good company.

Cement has a critical flaw: It’s extremely carbon-intensive to make, contributing around 8 percent of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions every year. About 40 percent of cement’s emissions come from fossil-fueled kilns that can get hotter than molten lava. The other 60 percent comes from the chemical process of calcination. When limestone is heated, it breaks down into its constituent parts of calcium oxide and CO2, sending planet-warming gases into the atmosphere. Terra CO2 Technology, Brimstone , CarbonBuilt, Sublime Systems, Fortera, and Prometheus Materials are six of the leading startups that are working to transform this foundational building block of modern society: https://bit.ly/3Que2dK #decarbonization #cement #carbondioxide #emissions #carbonemissions

Cement and concrete have an important role to play in decarbonising the built environment. It is great to be mentioned in the Sifted’s article on startups decarbonising the industry. Carbonaide technology, originating from the VTT, can replace cement with CO₂ and lower the footprint of concrete from 50% to 100%. If new low-carbon binders are used, the result is carbon negative concrete, with footprint of -60kg/m³. 100kg CO₂ is mineralized per m³ of concrete and permanently stored. Our industrial pilot (TRL9) has been operational since August 2023 and 20 - 30% savings in cement has been achieved. In addition, variety of alternative low-carbon binders have been now tested on an industrial scale, paving the way to carbon negativity. Two new initiatives, demonstrating strong market commitment for decarbonisation, were launched at COP28: ✅ The Breakthrough Initiative, launched by UAE and Canada, will enable collaboration between countries, businesses and other organizations, to accelerate investments in the technologies, tools and policies needed to help the cement and concrete industries to achieve net zero by 2050. ✅ GCCA – Global Cement and Concrete Association launched Innovandi Entrepreneur Network bringing together start-ups developing decarbonisation technology and leading industry players in pursuit of net zero goal. Innovative solutions to decarbonise the industry already exist today and startups are bringing these forward. 🙌 https://lnkd.in/dwRd6YxE #builtenvironment #concrete #decarbonisation #netzero

🪨Green cement is becoming reality and it's huge news for climate! Cement is responsible for about 8% of global CO2 emissions annually, more than aviation and shipping combined (!!!) 🏭 This is mostly because the traditional chemical production process with limestone emits huge amount of CO2. We talked about green cement potential in our Urban Tech report with 2150 two years ago. The sector has since then picked up attracting nearly $500M in VC funding from - construction tech specialists like 2150 and Fifth Wall - climate tech VCs like Breakthrough Energy and Climate Pledge Fund - and corporate like CEMEX Ventures, SMS CONCAST ITALIA and AMAG Group. Notable developments in the past few days 👇 US startups Brimstone is replacing limestone with abundant calcium silicate rocks creating carbon negative cement. ☑️ This decarbonized cement has been verified to meet industry standards (ASTM C150). This eliminates the regulatory hurdles to industry adoption while solving cement's climate problem. From a different angle also CarbonCure Technologies is making strides to decarbonize cement. The startup has just raised a new $80M Series C to provide carbon dioxide removal technologies for the concrete industry. CarbonCure retrofit technology injects captured carbon dioxide into concrete during mixing, where it gets chemically converted into a mineral. 📈 I see these recent advancements as a tide that can rise all boats for startups in the segment. The cement industry is predicted to grow to $500B in the next few years, large enough to see many winners and we need them all to decarbonize as fast as possible! Discover over 40 sustainable cement startups in Dealroom.co 👇 #climatetech #cement #buildings #realestate

What if the very product that drives 7% of all the Earth's #GHG emissions also held the key to reducing human impact on the climate? The cement industry (and thus, concrete) is responsible for a huge slice of global CO2 emissions because of the way it is made today which not only requires significant heat input, but also releases embedded carbon from the raw materials. As this McKinsey & Company article discusses, industry is working on solutions intended to reduce, neutralise and even embed carbon emissions through a selection of novel approaches. Some #startups have tackled the problem from the perspective of capturing and storing emissions through #CCUS, whereas another approach is through the chemical enhancement of concrete mixes through #admixtures which reduce the need for cement. The top of the pyramid, in our opinion, is the use of Supplementary Cementitious Materials #SCM which fundamentally changes the chemistry of the process to reduce emissions and, ultimately, to embed more Carbon than is emitted. The most exciting of these business models provides the opportunity to supply concretes that use waste products and to embed, permanently, airborne CO2 through the curing process. This provides developers with a potential new income stream from Carbon offsetting credits alongside meeting development targets and reducing the human burden on the planet. What's the downside? Time... 2023 has shown us that changes in our climate can happen even quicker than feared. So here it is, an industry that can employ millions of people, create sustainable buildings and infrastructure and permanently embed CO2. Jump on board the #greenconcrete industry now as it teeters on the edge of exponential growth and watch this space to see how MacKenzie Cameron hopes to help propel the most promising startup in the sector to greatness. Who knew that #concrete could be so exciting? https://lnkd.in/eh3kwmqj

🇪🇺 Europe’s green cement is taking off! As the world grapples with the challenges posed by climate change, sustainable construction 🏗 practices are progressively taking center stage in the architectural and engineering industries. Among the array of innovative solutions available, greener cement, next-generation binders, and precast concrete emerged as champions of #sustainableconstruction. A great article from Sifted highlighting a variety of approaches taken by our peers at CemVision (Poland), Carbonaide (Finland), Biozeroc (UK), and Material Evolution (UK), looking at cement production optimization, CO2 capture, new chemistries, and biochemistry. UrbaX will enter the play in 2024, establishing its European operations in Paris. The key for new entrants will be to find a quick go-to-market strategy to scale production quickly. As investors conclude: “If you can get to the same quality as Portland cement at the same or lower cost and be green, then you are a winner. We are still waiting for this.” It will happen in the coming 2-5 years. Watch out! 🚀 #greenconstruction #europe #startups https://lnkd.in/dwRd6YxE

We are pleased to have participated in Cambridge Electric Cement latest £2.25m seed fundraise for their world-first process for making low carbon, recycled cement. Having supported Cambridge Electric Cement from their establishment to date, we are delighted to see fellow investors recognising the high potential of their innovative offering. The built environment requires substantial change to reduce emissions and reach net zero, and this challenge is a huge opportunity for institutional investors like Legal & General. As the energy- and CO2-intensive component of concrete – a critical material for construction – decarbonising cement is an important way to reduce embedded emissions in the wider built environment as part of the net zero transition. https://bit.ly/4bpXElO

🚲🏗️#Infrastructure for #bikes can require the use of a considerable amount of #cement, even if it’s far less than what #highways or rail #transit require. Traditional cement #manufacturing requires a lot of #energy and releases #carbonemissions into the atmosphere, hardly what the world needs in the midst of a #climatecrisis. 👩🔬⚗️Fortunately, a #startup company named Brimstone is making progress with a type of cement that is just as strong as traditional versions, but is far better for the #environment. It’s actually #carbonnegative, which could help #transportation agencies burnish their #green credentials. https://lnkd.in/gPCs8agD (khp)

#cement is one of the key industries in need to disruption if we are serious about the #decarbonisation the #builtenvironment. More than 4 billion (!) tons of cement are produced each year, accounting for a whoping 8 percent of global #co2emissions. Thankfully, rapid advances in #materialsscience and #AI means solutions are at hand. Our portfolio company Material Evolution has developed cement with an 85% lower carbon footprint compared to the industry standard OPC because it does not require any heat during the production process. The product is in market and the company is scaling up production. To find out more about Material Evolution and other innovators in this space, check out this great Sifted article by Mimi Billing 👇 KOMPAS VC Elizabeth Gilligan Sam Clark David Frykman Norrsken VC Barry ONeill CircleRock Capital Chris Smith Playfair Helen Lin At One Ventures COWI Ramboll Arup Victoria Burrows https://lnkd.in/eCZt9Hjg