Lafarge inks partnership with developer of CO2-capturing precast

Sources: Lafarge Group, Paris; Solidia Technologies, Piscataway, N.J.; CP staff

Lafarge has entered a partnership agreement with venture capital-backed Solidia Technologies to industrialize processes reducing carbon dioxide emissions in cement production and capturing CO2 in precast concrete curing.

Citing the potential to lower CO2 emissions generated en route to finished precast by 70 percent against conventional production methods, the partnership aims to demonstrate feasibility of commercial-scale processes in the first half of 2014. The two companies will collaborate to market the technology as a new, low-carbon solution for the precast sector.

Solidia processes cure concrete with CO2 instead of water, and involve a sustainable cement as binder, company officials note. “Solidia Concrete offers broader application choices in durability, strength, material reduction, and casting—using the same raw materials and equipment but less water, energy and time,” they add.

Solidia has three products ready for commercial adoption and five under development. The company announced its low-carbon binder and CO2-based precast curing methods at the 2011 Greenbuild in Toronto. Soon after, it reported a round of funding led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, whose calls on Amazon and Google made it one of Silicon Valley’s star venture capital firms.

Solidia Technologies’ 40-member team includes scientists and engineers with wide connections in the construction and building materials industries and extensive experience in new product and market commercialization, intellectual property, and simplified manufacturing.