Sources: Titan Cement International SA, Brussels; CP staff
The parent company of Virginia-based cement, fly ash, aggregate, ready mixed and concrete block producer Titan America SA has announced an investment in Concrete.ai, Los Angeles developer of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology for mix design optimization, quality control and lowering carbon dioxide emissions associated with finished concrete. Combining Titan Cement’s industry expertise, global footprint, and operational scale with Concrete.ai’s advanced technological capabilities, the partnership will focus on co-development, pilot project, and joint commercialization opportunities. Work will build on the Concrete Copilot platform tested with producers across North America.
In addition to Concrete.ai., Titan Cement has joined investors in The Netherlands’ C2CA Technology, developer of a reactor and process equipment engineered to extract supplementary cementitious material and virgin-grade aggregate from demolition or waste concrete. C2CA’s end-to-end upcycling affords another avenue supporting Titan Cement efforts to minimize waste, reduce embodied carbon, and deliver greener products.
Finally, the producer has become a lead investor in a second AI technology developer, Optimitive S.A.R.L., with offices in Luxembourg and Spain. The move follows Titan Cement’s wide deployment of the Optibat solution on cement plant kiln and vertical or horizontal mill control systems, where the technology promotes real time equipment optimization for increasing throughput, improving quality and reducing energy consumption. Alignment with Optimitive dovetails build out of CemAI, an internal platform Titan Cement has developed to advance predictive maintenance for operations on both sides of the Atlantic.
“The investments exemplify our dedication to supporting disruptive technologies and startups with the potential to transform our industry,” says Titan Group Chief Innovation and Sustainability Officer Leonidas Canellopoulos. “They will enhance our competitiveness while accelerating the integration of innovative technologies and materials into our operations, products, and solutions. Looking ahead, we are actively exploring options to expand our investment capacity, including potential partnerships for a larger fund to address more advanced opportunities.”
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EAGLE MATERIALS LEADS TERRA C02 HOLDINGS FUNDING ROUND
Supplementary cementitious materials process developer Terra CO2 Holdings of Golden, Colo. has signed Series B equity commitments totaling $82 million from financial and strategic investors. The latter include Dallas-based Eagle Materials Co., which has secured options for processing installations at three of its cement mills. In pilot scale equipment, Terra CO2 has demonstrated the potential for commercial scale output of its inaugural product, OPUS SCM, using silicate-rich feedstocks sourced from aggregate mines. Terra CO2 envisions 240,000-ton/year capacity plant installations at existing cement operations or greenfield sites strategic to major concrete markets.
“As the supply of other Supplementary Cementitious Materials, such as fly ash, continues to decrease in availability, increased SCM development will be crucial to fulfill the needs of our customers and in meeting the expected increases in demand for cement more broadly,” says Eagle Materials CEO Michael Haack. “This investment aligns with our goal to seek sustainable and commercially viable solutions that work within existing infrastructure.”
Eagle Materials co-leads the Series B funding round with Just Climate LLP, part of Generation Investment Management in London, and GenZero of Singapore. They join a charter Terra CO2 investor, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the top venture capital source for technology startups pursuing companions to or full replacements for ASTM C150 portland cement.
“Terra is the type of transformational solution that Just Climate seeks to scale,” notes Managing Director Benoit Grobon. “Their ability to deliver a practical and cost competitive solution to one of the world’s highest-emitting sectors, along with strategic approach to deployment, positions them to drive meaningful carbon reduction in the construction industry.”
“We invest in commercially scalable technologies with the ability to deliver deep decarbonization impact in hard-to-abate sectors such as the built environment,” adds GenZero Managing Director Kimberly Tan. “Terra’s proprietary technology is a present-day, accessible solution, which has undergone extensive testing and garnered significant commercial traction from potential customers.”
“This strategic funding from the world’s leading climate funds and industry partners validates our approach to practical cement decarbonization at commercial scale,” affirms Terra CO2 CEO Bill Yearsley. “As we break ground on our first full-scale plant in Texas, their support enables us to accelerate our deployment across North America.”
The Texas project involves premier partner Asher Materials and Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex proximity. It is proceeding under a recently signed contract with Clark Construction, who Yearsley recognizes as “one of the largest and most respected contractors in North America with the reach to complete Terra projects anywhere in the United States.”