Displaying items by tag: startup

Sweden/Switzerland: Holcim has partnered with US-based retail company Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund to invest in CO₂-sequestering concrete filler developer Paebbl and 3D printers 14Trees. The Paebbl investment is part of a US$25m Series A funding round jointly led by Germany-based venture capital firm Capnamic. Holcim says that the new investment will help Paebbl to scale up. Meanwhile, 14Trees, which is a joint venture of Holcim and British International Investment, will also scale up its operations to begin 3D printing larger buildings, including data centres.

Paebbl co-CEO Marta Sjögren said "We are thrilled to welcome first movers in their respective fields, Amazon and Holcim, as first commercial partners to bring our vision to market. This funding round enables us to take even bolder steps in our mission to make the built environment a cornerstone of the decarbonised economy."

14Trees managing director Francois Perrot said "We are excited to count Amazon and Holcim as investors in 14 Trees, to take our successful 3D-printed technology from homes and schools to data centres, to deliver low-carbon and high-performance buildings."

Holcim’s chief sustainability officer Nollaig Forrest said "By investing with Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund into 14Trees and Paebbl, we can scale up these pioneering technologies to push the boundaries of sustainable building, from 3D printing to making concrete a carbon sink."

Global: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has announced new collaborations between global cement manufacturers and technology start-ups, focusing on the development of low carbon concrete. Four start-ups—EnviCore in Canada, Queens Carbon and Chement, both in the US and NeoCrete in New Zealand—were part of the 2023 GCCA Innovandi Open Challenge and have now partnered with cement manufacturers. These partnerships aim to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete.

The startups will receive access to industry plants, labs and networks to fast-track their technologies. They will also demonstrate their progress on 6th June 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand, during the GCCA's CEO and Leaders Conference. The association continues its efforts under the 2050 Net Zero Concrete Roadmap, with 29 new start-ups shortlisted this year to work on carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technology.

US: Terra CO₂ has begun full-scale trial production of concrete without cement using its novel supplementary cementitious material, Opus Zero. The SCM consists of ground, heated glass spheres made from silicate rock.

Chief scientific officer DJ Lake said “Opus Zero represents a pivotal moment in our journey towards sustainable cement and concrete. Of the very few non-carbon-capture solutions to decarbonising cement, with none proven at scale, Opus Zero stands above the rest for being inherently cost-efficient, practical and scalable for the industry. Today, Opus Zero represents a zero-clinker cement that can be produced with abundant feedstock around the world, does not require opening new mines to scale, and aims to seamlessly fold into the current industry landscape.”