Brimstone’s Carbon Negative Cement Lands First Industry Certification

Oakland-based firm is moving to build a pilot plant in Nevada

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Some positive news for negative carbon.

Cody Finke and Hugo Leandri’s Brimstone landed an industry certification for its carbon-negative cement, with significant implications for real estate’s climate goals.

Brimstone’s green Portland cement received third-party certification that it meets the ASTM C150 standard, one of the most commonly used materials standards in construction, the Washington Post reported. It is the first carbon-neutral or carbon-negative Portland cement to meet the requirement, according to Brimstone.

The approval is a key step toward deploying Brimstone’s carbon-negative cement production to the market, and tackling building-related carbon emissions.

“The biggest barrier to entry in terms of either decarbonizing cement or steel, or coming up with an alternative product that can be swapped in for one of those structural materials, is typically the testing,” Stacy Smedley, executive director at Building Transparency, told the outlet.

“Construction is a risk-averse sector,” she added, noting the catastrophic implications of a building collapse.

“Being able to fit into existing standards is really powerful for commercialization,” Anu Khan, deputy director of science and innovation at Carbon180 told the publication.

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The Oakland-based company is now moving to open a pilot plant near Reno, Nevada, the outlet reported. Getting carbon-negative cement to market is still years down the road.

Cement production currently accounts for 8 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. The carbon stored in limestone releases into the atmosphere during cement production, and is one of the most significant sources of embodied carbon in buildings. Embodied carbon, the emissions from building materials and construction, is responsible for 11 percent of global carbon dioxide released every year.

Many real estate companies are incorporating embodied carbon into their ESG strategies, but progress is dependent on an underdeveloped supply chain of low-carbon building materials.

As a result, 95 percent of all cement produced in the U.S. is the traditional, carbon-intensive Portland cement, according to a press release from Brimstone. Most green concrete options utilize higher amounts of recycled content, and do little to mitigate cement-related emissions. Brimstone’s portland cement production process is carbon-negative, meaning the process sequesters carbon dioxide rather than releasing more, according to the company.

Finke and Leandri’s carbon-negative ambitions caught the attention of investors last year during its Series A funding round, raising $55 million in April. Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, DCVC, and Fifth Wall are among the company’s backers.

Last year, the Reed, a 41-story luxury residential tower in Chicago, became the city’s first low-carbon concrete building.

— Kate Hinsche