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NGen funds $8M sustainable concrete manufacturing project in Quebec

HAMILTON — Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen), the industry-led organization leading Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Global Innovation Cluster, has announced a $3.4 million contribution to an $8 million project led by CarbiCrete, with partners Patio Drummond and Innovotive, to implement and optimize CarbiCrete’s carbon-negative concrete manufacturing process at industrial scale.

“The world uses billions of tonnes of concrete every year, accounting for 8% of global emissions,” said the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “Canada is a leader in the effort to decarbonize cement, and innovators like CarbiCrete are developing clean tech breakthroughs that will have a truly global impact. We are proud to support innovators like CarbiCrete as they deliver environmentally conscious solutions in a growing global market.”

“NGen is pleased to support CarbiCrete as they work with their partners to set the global standard for carbon-negative concrete manufacturing,” said Jayson Myers, CEO, NGen. “Continued investment in advanced manufacturing scale up will be essential to meet Canada’s ambitious environmental targets and to maintain our position as a world class destination for clean technology.”

CarbiCrete’s process for the production of precast concrete reportedly replaces cement in concrete with industrial by-products and cures it with carbon dioxide, avoiding the GHG emissions associated with cement production, while permanently sequestering CO2 within the resulting concrete products.

“Once this process is optimized, it will position Canada as the undisputed world leader in sustainable concrete,” says Chris Stern, CEO, CarbiCrete. “Making a global impact on reducing embodied carbon in the built environment will require a host of complementary solutions, but there is no single process that is more effective than CarbiCrete’s when it comes to abating and removing CO2 in concrete production.”

Patio Drummond Co-Owner Philipe Girardin has indicated that he intends to convert his entire line-up of drycast products to CarbiCrete technology. “We know that customers are looking for sustainable building materials, and we want to be the first ones to offer a carbon-negative concrete product,” says Girardin.

The industrial implementation of CarbiCrete’s advanced manufacturing process will occur at hardscape manufacturer Patio Drummond’s precast facility in Drummondville, Quebec and will yield carbon-negative concrete blocks. Project partner Innovotive will be building a software platform to collect data for production validation, tracking, analysis, and optimization.