Some people look at carbon emissions and see a problem. For Dartmouth-based CarbonCure, carbon emissions are an untapped opportunity. They ask: what if we could capture some of those emissions and inject them into concrete to make it stronger?
That is precisely what CarbonCure has set out to do, developing a carbon dioxide “utilization” technology that recycles captured CO2 emissions from industrial emitters and puts them to work for concrete producers.
In one day, CarbonCure can retrofit any ready-mixed concrete plant with its technology, instantly reducing carbon emissions while manufacturing a durable building material. Carbon is injected into the concrete, where it is sequestered and eventually turned into a solid as concrete. Reducing the carbon footprint of cement is a pressing issue, as there is more concrete manufactured across the globe than any other single material.
Founder and CEO Robert Niven originally started the company in 2007 with the last of his student loans. Aided by funding and export development assistance from a number of provincial and federal organizations, including Sustainable Development Technology Canada and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the company has steadily scaled up operations and raised multiple rounds of private capital.
In 2018, CarbonCure completed a strategic round of investment from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, an investment group whose board includes Bill Gates, Jack Ma, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson and Michael Bloomberg.
Over 130 plants across North America and Asia are now being retrofitted with CarbonCure’s technology. And that’s just the beginning. If adopted globally, CarbonCure’s technologies could reduce emissions up to 500 megatonnes annually while creating $26 billion in efficiency improvements for manufacturers.
Notable buildings where CarbonCure technology has been used are scattered across North America, including the Georgia Aquarium Predator Exhibit in Atlanta, the Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital in Vaughan and the RBC Centre Multi-Pad Arena in Dartmouth. Most recently, CarbonCure broke into the Asian market through a deal with PanUnited in Singapore, the nation’s largest concrete and cement company
Where will CarbonCure's solution turn up next?