Sources: Global Cement and Concrete Association, London; CMCM staff

The Global Cement and Concrete Association has shortlisted nine North American startups for the 2023 Innovandi Open Challenge, soliciting technologies that lower the carbon factor in finished concrete:

• Arrakis Materials, Woburn, Mass.; carbon-negative materials for concrete mixes

• Chement, Chicago; electrochemical process augmenting cement production

• EnviroCore Inc., Calgary; low-temperature conversion of mineral feedstocks to supplementary cementitious materials (SCM)

• Enzymatic Inc., Las Vegas; biological process-derived concrete additives

• Louis Structures, Sheboygan, Wis.; municipal waste-derived, lightweight aggregate

• MEP – SeaMix, Miami; portland cement-optimizing basalt fiber and graphene admixture

• Nano Crete, Aurora, Colo.; graphene-based admixture or SCM

• Queens Carbon, Pine Brook, N.J.; reduced-temperature cementitious materials production 

• Ultra High Materials, Washington, D.C.; alumino-silicate alternative to portland cement 

The 2023 Innovandi Open Challenge drew 70 applicants. Joining their North American peers are these startups from overseas markets:  Cool Corp., carbon nanotube additive, EcoAdmix Global, energy-wise nanotechnology process, and Versarien Graphene, admixture, all U.K.; ecoLocked, Berlin, biocarbon-based admixture; Nanospan India, graphene admixture; and, NeoCrete, New Zealand, nanotechnology-enabled natural pozzolan activator.

The program unites startups and leading cement and concrete producers to pinpoint innovative ways to cut carbon emissions and accelerate GCCA Net Zero 2050 Roadmap progress; finalists gain access to association member expertise, plants, labs and networks. GCCA kicked off the program in 2022, inviting cement process startups, then shifting to concrete materials this year.

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