Paving the way to low-carbon concrete

TECH

Could Canada’s infrastructure dollars jump-start low-carbon concrete?

What happened: Building Canada’s major infrastructure projects with low-carbon concrete can cut emissions and boost the economy at the same time, according to a new report from the Pembina Institute.

The details: Governments already buy nearly one-third of concrete in Canada. If provinces align with the existing federal standards on embodied emissions - which requires a 10% reduction in concrete emissions for federal projects - and adopt performance-based standards, they can unlock cleaner materials at scale without rewriting the rulebook.

Why it matters: Lower-carbon concrete is a high-leverage climate opportunity hiding in plain sight. Concrete is the world’s second most-used material and the backbone of modern infrastructure, supporting more than 166,000 jobs and $76B in annual economic activity nationwide.

But it also has a huge climate impact, making up ~7% of global emissions and 1.5% of Canada’s total. Cement production requires crushing and heating limestone at extremely high temperatures, using large amounts of energy and emitting nearly one tonne of CO2 per tonne produced.

Low-carbon alternatives deliver the same (or better) performance by reducing cement content, using new binders, or curing concrete with injected CO2 that is permanently stored.

Performance-based standards and procurement would allow Canadian startups and suppliers to compete on results - strength, durability, and carbon - rather than being locked out by prescriptive requirements.

What’s different this time: The supply side is starting to catch up as Canadian climate builders bring low-carbon concrete from the lab to market.

• Nova Scotia’s alterBiota started commercializing its biochar cement replacement, delivering 10-22% reductions in embodied carbon

• Calgary’s Carbon Upcycling broke ground this summer on a commercial facility to turn industrial byproducts into low-carbon cement

• New entrant CURA closed a pre-seed investment to develop an electrochemical process for producing cement with up to 85% less emission

Carbon pricing, trading frameworks like the EU’s CBAM, and sector-level targets are starting to drive demand in Europe, North America and Asia.

Strategic advantage: Government procurement wouldn’t just avoid emissions in major infrastructure projects, but also kickstart exportable, advanced industrial capabilities.

Concrete buyers are typically risk averse and price-constrained, with little incentive to spend money and effort adopting new materials. Government demand can tip the scales, proving Canadian solutions at home and then helping them compete abroad.

The UK Is already moving, launching an Advance Market Commitment to catalyze low-carbon concrete production.

The bottom line: With the right procurement signals, Canada can cut infrastructure emissions while building an advanced materials industry positioned for a fast-growing global market.

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CLIMATE CAPITAL

🧱 CURA (Calgary, AB) closed a pre-seed round led by Amplify Capital and Zacua Ventures for its electrochemical low-carbon cement solution.

🌲 CHAR Technologies (Toronto, ON) received $2.2 million from the Ontario government to commercialize biocoal from forestry by-products.

💰️ AltCrest Energy, DevEngine, and Spring Lane Capital launched a joint venture to invest $100 million into distributed energy systems across Canada.

IN THE FIELD

🔌 SWTCH Energy launched its Home Charging Program in Canada, offering free L2 EV chargers that pay homeowners for charging through the Clean Fuels program.

🚌 Argo will launch a 12 month pilot project for its on-demand electric transit service in Brampton, ON.

🚚 The City of Toronto is piloting Effenco’s hybrid-electric propulsion systems on garbage trucks and could cut emissions by 30%.

⚔️ Grengine, Hydrogen in Motion, and SolarSteam joined NATO’s DIANA challenge program to leverage low-carbon tech for defence, energy security, and adaptation.

🦾 Relocalize shipped its second RELO microfactory to the US, capable of serving 250,000 people annually.

🔋 NEO Battery Materials secured its first purchase order for lithium-ion batteries from an Asian automotive OEM, with manufacturing already underway.

🌋 Quebec-based energy company Énergir launched a new geothermal subsidiary to connect thousands of homes to geothermal energy.

✈️ Montreal- and US-based EVIO launched its hybrid-electric EVIO 810 regional aircraft with 450 conditional purchase agreements.

💨 US-based Mantel Capture started engineering & design work for a commercial-scale carbon capture installation at an Alberta oil and gas producer.

🚗 UofT will launch Electric Vehicle Innovation Ontario to support Ontario's EV sector through graduate researcher placements and industry collaborations.

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NEWS

📡 Signals & Currents

Flooding from heavy rainstorms in BC led to hundreds of evacuations and renewed calls for the province to invest in flood mitigation.

Hydro Ottawa will launch the Ottawa Distributed Energy Resource Accelerator to forecast peak load and integrate distributed energy assets into the grid.

Capital Power is considering expanding its 1.8 GW natural gas plant in Alberta to support large data centres if PM Carney suspends the Clean Electricity Regulations.

Early cold snaps pushed Hydro-Québec's grid near capacity, driving up demand just as hydro stations started maintenance.

Falling costs of battery energy storage could turn cheap daytime solar into competitive dispatchable solar.

Quick Hits:

• Data centre demand could also open a flood of forever chemicals

• Uber is cutting EV incentives for drivers

• BNEF’s circular plastics leaders and laggards

• Lithium battery pack prices fell 8% this year from overcapacity and growth in LFP batteries

• Boom pivots from supersonic jets to gas turbines for data centres

• What you need to know about the EU’s CBAM for January

• The EU wants to supercharge cross-border energy infrastructure

• … but also walked back climate disclosure rules

COMMUNITY

🚀 Drilling Technology Challenge: Accelerating the development and commercialization of innovative drilling technologies for geothermal, CSS and critical minerals. Apply by January 29th.

➡️ Discover more funding opportunities.

🗓️ Carbon Unbound West Coast: Join hundreds of climate leaders gathering to accelerate carbon removal. January 22-23rd, Vancouver.

➡️ Discover more climate events.

🧑🏻‍💻 CarbonCure is hiring a Senior Director, Carbon Strategy to oversee its carbon credit program and overall success in the voluntary carbon market.

➡️ Find more open roles.