Recently, Canadian clean technology company CarbonCure Technologies, which provides concrete industry development carbon dioxide removal (CDR) solutions, announced that it has received investment funds from Amazon and the Bill Gates Foundation respectively. The Amazon Climate Commitment Fund and Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) led by Bill Gates co-led the investment group composed of Microsoft, BDC Capital, 2150, Thistledown Capital, Taronga Ventures and GreenSoil Investments. This investment is committed to solving the carbon footprint problem of concrete. Concrete is the most abundant man-made material in the world. Cement is the key ingredient that gives concrete strength and is one of the largest carbon dioxide emitters in the built environment.
Amazon and Bill Gates co-lead investment in clean tech company CarbonCure Technologies
The Amazon Climate Commitment Fund and Bill Gates-backed Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) jointly led the investment group consisting of Microsoft, BDC Capital, 2150, Thistledown Capital, Taronga Ventures and GreenSoil Investments. This investment aims to solve the carbon footprint problem of concrete. Concrete is the most abundant human-made material in the world. Cement is the key ingredient that gives concrete strength and is one of the biggest sources of carbon dioxide emissions in the construction environment, accounting for about 8% of total annual emissions globally, far exceeding the 2.5% from the airline industry.
Investment to help achieve carbon neutrality commitment by 2040
In 2019, Amazon co-founded the Climate Commitment Organization with others, which is committed to achieving zero carbon emissions by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement. The Amazon spokesperson said that CarbonCure will help Amazon and other companies achieve their climate commitment to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2040. It is expected to reduce the carbon footprint of many buildings through the use of CarbonCure concrete, including Amazon’s HQ2 building in Virginia.
Microsoft: Investment in CarbonCure can help achieve negative carbon target
Another major investment member, the managing director of the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, said that achieving a zero carbon net future requires developing innovative new technologies to address carbon emissions across industries. Solutions like CarbonCure help reduce carbon emissions from the concrete industry, which is one of the sources of carbon emissions, accounting for about 8% of total annual emissions globally.
CarbonCure plans to accelerate expansion with capital investment
CarbonCure plans to use capital investment to accelerate its product roadmap and regional expansion to achieve its target of removing 5 million tons (50 million metric tons or 500,000 tons) of carbon dioxide per year from the concrete industry by 2030. Currently, CarbonCure has been used by nearly 300 concrete manufacturers to provide low carbon concrete for construction projects.
This investment marks the broader change taking place in public and private infrastructure projects, as industries and governments shift focus to reducing concrete carbon emissions. Although CarbonCure reduces emissions, it does not completely offset emissions from concrete in data center construction.