Montréal-based cleantech firm CarbiCrete has raised $15 million CAD ($12 million USD) in what the company classifies as the first close of its Series A round.
A spokesperson for CarbiCrete told BetaKit that the new fresh financing comprises $8 million USD equity and $4 million USD in debt. This brings the company’s total funding to $22 million USD.
Led by FS Investors, the $12 million also includes participation from Arc Energy Fund 9, Something Good Ventures, New Climate Ventures and Innovobot. CarbiCrete said it anticipates the second close to happen “in the coming weeks.”
“This new injection of funding will accelerate our ability to achieve our goals with identified customers in Quebec, Ontario, and Europe.”
– Chris Stern
Founded in 2016, CarbiCrete is a carbon removal technology company that is developing low-cost building solutions that are designed to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Initially developed at McGill University, its technology enables the production of cement-free, carbon-negative concrete.
“We’re seeing a huge appetite for our solution which can make a substantial impact in decarbonizing the built environment,” said CarbiCrete CEO Chris Stern. “This new injection of funding will accelerate our ability to achieve our goals with identified customers in Quebec, Ontario, and Europe.”
As the company cements plans to tap into markets outside of Canada, CarbiCrete has already been globally recognized.
CarbiCrete was one out of 13 Canadian companies named in the Global Cleantech 100 list in 2022. This was the company’s second time being listed after it also cracked the 2020 edition.
CarbiCrete’s process uses slag from steel factories, an industrial by-product, to replace cement as a binding ingredient in precast concrete products. This system involves injecting carbon dioxide (CO2) into the fresh concrete to provide strength, while permanently isolating the CO2 within the resulting products.
CarbiCrete claims that for every tonne of concrete produced using their process, 150 kilograms of CO2 are removed.
Stern said that the fresh injection of capital will allow the company to expand its team, product portfolio, and commercialization efforts.
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Stern adds that CarbiCrete tripled its staff and moved into a “state-of-the-art” research and development facility in the last year where the team “is working hard to find ways of maximizing the amount of CO2 we can remove from the atmosphere and use in high-quality but affordable construction and landscaping products.”
In December, CarbiCrete announced the launch of its commercial pilot housed at hardscape manufacturer Patio Drummond’s precast facility in Drummondville, Quebec that will yield 2,400 CMUs per day. CarbiCrete claims this would be the world’s first commercially-available carbon-negative concrete blocks.
Feature image from CarbiCrete website