aggregate can capture and sequester up to 440
kg., or 920 lbs., of carbon dioxide gas.
Holcim North America has taken a financial position in Blue Planet Systems Corp. of Los Gatos, Calif., joining three other marquee investors that have announced stakes in the carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) technology developer since 2020: Knife River Corp., Mitsubishi Corp. and Chevron. Their capital supports commercialization of a process that mineralizes carbon dioxide gas into synthetic limestone aggregate, potentially negating other embodied carbon factors when used in concrete.
“Being at the forefront of driving sustainable actions in our industry requires continuous innovation and partnerships,” says Holcim North America Region Head Toufic Tabbara. “Our investment offers a critical opportunity to influence the development of future technologies in the CCUS space. At the same time, we grow our network of like-minded companies with a strong focus on net zero to amplify global efforts along with other Blue Planet investors.”
The companies will initiate a multi-year strategic collaboration to identify mineralization targets to further lower the carbon footprint of Holcim US and Lafarge Canada cement, aggregate and concrete production—with the potential to expand to other Holcim Group operations around the world.
“This is an important step for us in North America,” notes Lafarge Canada CEO David Redfern. “Our vision is to transform our St. Constant Plant in Montreal into a carbon campus that ultimately advances commercialization of mineralization technologies. We look forward to advancing our Net Zero strategy by leveraging mineralization technology that allows us to use the CO2 from our own cement plants to produce carbon neutral or carbon negative sand and gravel products.”
“By focusing on the aggregate component of concrete, our technology can have a more impactful influence on the embodied carbon in concrete than the traditional focus on reducing cement component alone,” affirms Blue Planet CEO Brent Constantz, PhD. “Collaborating with Holcim enables us to apply our mineralization technology to large-scale cement operations where we expect it will more squarely address CO2 emissions.”
Each tonne of Blue Planet calcium carbonate aggregate can capture and sequester up to 440 kg., or 920 lbs., of carbon dioxide gas.