Rahul Shendure, the CEO of the Indian-American low-carbon concrete start-up CarbonBuilt, and its concrete masonry partner Blair Block announced the beginning of commercial production of their green concrete. Additionally, the companies have secured their first paying customer, which is a big accomplishment for the three-year-old business.
Through the use of their technology, which won the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE in 2021, the company claims that the cost of producing eco-friendly concrete is equal to the cost of producing ordinary concrete. The company’s method can reduce carbon dioxide production over the course of concrete by 70% to 100%.
The method fights carbon on two fronts: injecting carbon into the curing chamber used to strengthen the blocks and substituting a bespoke blend of locally made, low-carbon material for the majority of the cement in concrete. Blair Block’s new production procedure, according to CarbonBuilt, will lower CO2 emissions by at least 2,000 metric tons a year. The plant will also annually remove more than 500 metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere.
Rahul Shendure said, “One of the beauties of this thing is that the core production economics are better. We’re taking out one of the most expensive ingredients, which is cement, and we’re replacing it with a combination of low-value but easy-to-access industrial materials that deliver, in combination with CO2, the properties we need.”
