Wonder

Research Outline

Prepared for James S. | Delivered July 17, 2020

Companies Producing CO2-Absorbing Concrete

Goals

Identify the 12 primary players involved in producing CO2-absorbing concrete to assist in assessing the feasibility of building with the material. Rank the players involved in terms of their progress if possible.

Early Findings

Solidia Solidia began developing CO2-absorbing concrete in 2008.
Solidia was formed as a result of a project to commercialize ideas from Rutgers University.
Solidia is considered to be the most promising company offering CO2-absorbing concrete.
Solidia has received 20 U.S. patents and 85 international patents, and over 200 patents remain pending.
 Investors for Solidia include BP, Total Energy Ventures, and Bright Capital. 
Solidia has received multiple awards, including the 2013 Global Cleantech top 100 Shortlisted Company award, the June 2019 Solar Impulse Efficient Solution award, and recognition from Emissions Reduction Alberta. 
The concrete product Solidia is currently able to make absorbs 240 kg of the 1,000 kg CO2 required to make it.
Solidia's concrete sets within 24 hours, rather than the weeks required for traditional concrete.
CarbonCureCarbonCure is actively producing CO2-absorbing concrete from its over 50 plants across North America.
Fresh CO2 is injected into CarbonCure's concrete during missing, a process that strengthens the concrete as the CO2 hardens into a mineral.
The equipment needed to create CarbonCure's mixture can be retrofitted easily into existing plants.
CarbonCure has been named the North America’s 2020 Cleantech Company of the Year, and it has advanced as a finalist in the $20 million Carbon XPRIZE competition.
Concrete producers currently using CarbonCure's technology include PanUnited, Vulcan, imi, Thomas Concrete, and Central.

Summary of Early Findings in Relation to GoalsThe first hour of research involved outlining the project to determine if the requested information is available. Along with the companies involved in the source article provided (two of which were profiled as part of the early findings), a few additional companies have been identified in the CO2-absorbing or carbon negative concrete industry. The industry appears to be too young to have expanded to a broader field.

Based on our early findings, we recommend the following next steps to complete a picture of the CO2-absorbing or carbon negative concrete industry:

 