Eagle Materials co-leads $82M funding round for SCM developer Terra CO2

Sources: Terra CO2 Holdings, Golden, Colo.; CP staff

Supplementary cementitious materials process developer Terra CO2 has signed Series B equity commitments totaling $82 million from financial and strategic investors. The latter include 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, widely pegged for its carbon dioxide emissions-intensive production.

“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 means it can deliver immediate decarbonization benefits while addressing the demands of urban development and the industry’s stringent performance requirements.”

“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, and our plans to develop an early beachhead in Europe.”

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.”