HAMILTON, Ontario, May 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen), the industry-led organization leading Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Global Innovation Cluster, has announced a $3.4 million contribution to an $8 million project led by CarbiCrete, with partners Patio Drummond and Innovobot Labs, to implement and optimize CarbiCrete’s carbon-negative concrete manufacturing process at industrial scale.
“The world uses billions of tonnes of concrete every year, accounting for 8% of global emissions,” said the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “Canada is a leader in the effort to decarbonize cement, and innovators like CarbiCrete are developing clean tech breakthroughs that will have a truly global impact. We are proud to support innovators like CarbiCrete as they deliver environmentally conscious solutions in a growing global market.”
“NGen is pleased to support CarbiCrete as they work with their partners to set the global standard for carbon-negative concrete manufacturing,” said Jayson Myers, CEO, NGen. “Continued investment in advanced manufacturing scale up will be essential to meet Canada’s ambitious environmental targets and to maintain our position as a world class destination for clean technology.”
Concrete is the most consumed substance on Earth after water, but the production of its key ingredient, cement, accounts for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. CarbiCrete’s process for the production of precast concrete replaces cement in concrete with industrial by-products and cures it with carbon dioxide, avoiding the GHG emissions associated with cement production, while permanently sequestering CO2 within the resulting concrete products. For every ton of concrete produced using this process, 150 kg of CO2 are abated/removed.
“Once this process is optimized, it will position Canada as the undisputed world leader in sustainable concrete,” says Chris Stern, CEO, CarbiCrete. “Making a global impact on reducing embodied carbon in the built environment will require a host of complementary solutions, but there is no single process that is more effective than CarbiCrete’s when it comes to abating and removing CO2 in concrete production.”
Patio Drummond Co-Owner Philipe Girardin has indicated that he intends to convert his entire line-up of drycast products to CarbiCrete technology. “We know that customers are looking for sustainable building materials, and we want to be the first ones to offer a carbon-negative concrete product,” says Girardin.
The industrial implementation of CarbiCrete’s advanced manufacturing process will occur at hardscape manufacturer Patio Drummond’s precast facility in Drummondville, Quebec and will yield the world’s first commercially available carbon-negative concrete blocks. Project partner Innovotive will be building a software platform to collect data for production validation, tracking, analysis, and optimization.
This project is funded by NGen under Canada’s Global Innovation Clusters. To date, NGen has approved 166 projects with 374 industry partners, investing $236 million of Supercluster funds and leveraging $371 million in new R&D investments by industry. NGen investments have created 18 new companies, supported 45 new products and services and generated $1.92 billion in revenue and licensing deals for participating partners.
About NGen – Next Generation Manufacturing Canada
NGen is the industry-led not-for-profit organization that leads Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Global Innovation Cluster. Its mandate is to help build world-leading advanced manufacturing capabilities in Canada for the benefit of Canadians. NGen works to strengthen collaboration among its membership of more than 4,500 manufacturers, technology companies, innovation centres, and researchers, and provides funding and business support to industry-led initiatives that aim to develop, apply, or scale-up transformative manufacturing solutions in Canada for commercialization in global markets. www.ngen.ca/membership
About CarbiCrete
CarbiCrete is a Montreal-based carbon removal technology company developing innovative, low-cost building solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. CarbiCrete’s patented technology enables the production of cement-free, carbon-negative concrete made with industrial by-products and captured carbon dioxide. For every ton of concrete produced using the CarbiCrete process, 150 kg of CO2 are abated/removed. CarbiCrete was named to the Cleantech Group’s Cleantech Global 100 list for the second time in January 2022. Carbicrete.com
Media Contacts
NGen
Robbie MacLeod
Director, Strategic Communications
robbie.macleod@ngen.ca
613-297-3578
CarbiCrete
Yuri Mytko
Chief Marketing Officer
yuri.mytko@Carbicrete.com
514-927-9874