California Startup Uses Cement Plant Exhaust to Make Cement, Slashing Emissions

Making cement emits large amounts of carbon dioxide and is a major contributor to climate change, responsible for 8% of global emissions.

A California startup, Fortera, has developed a technology that captures carbon dioxide from cement plant exhaust and uses it to make additional cement.

Fortera's technology will be implemented at a cement plant in Redding, CA and reduces the carbon emissions from cement production by 10-70%, depending on the blend.

Fortera's process works by capturing CO2 exhaust and turning it into a limestone material that can be blended with cement. This allows it to work with existing cement plants.

Cement and concrete manufacturing is a huge global industry and efforts are underway industry-wide to develop lower carbon solutions, but ubiquitous solutions are still needed.