Holcim North America to Scale Up Mineralization Technology, Leading Industry Transition to Net Zero

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Jun 14, 2022, 12:00 ET

Lafarge Canada and Holcim US embark on innovative collaboration with Blue Planet to scale technology that can sequester carbon emissions and provide circular economy benefits

TORONTO and CHICAGO, June 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Holcim North America announced a financial investment in Blue Planet Systems Corporation, to support the development and commercialization of their mineralization technology. Blue Planet's novel process sequesters carbon emissions into aggregate that can make concrete carbon-negative. Each tonne of Blue Planet's aggregate can mineralize up to 440 kg of CO2, preventing it from emitting into the atmosphere.

Blue Planet's CCUS technology provides circular economy benefits in that the mineralization process can consume industrial waste, such as recycled concrete, cement kiln dust (CKD), and slag and produce new aggregate products. This investment represents another significant step toward making Holcim the global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions.

"Being at the forefront of driving sustainable actions in our industry requires continuous innovation and partnerships," said Toufic Tabbara, Region Head, North America. "Our investment offers a critical opportunity to influence the development of future technologies in the CCUS space while at the same time, we grow our network of like-minded companies with the same strong focus on net zero to amplify global efforts along with other Blue Planet's investors."

Holcim North America, comprising Lafarge Canada and Holcim US, and Blue Planet will initiate a multi-year strategic collaboration to help identify potential to use the mineralization technology to further lower the carbon footprint of the companies' cement, aggregates and concrete operations, with the potential to expand to other operations in the Holcim Group around the world.

"This is an important step for us in North America. Our vision is to transform our St. Constant Plant in Montreal (QC) into a carbon campus that ultimately advances commercialization of mineralization technologies including Blue Planet's products," added David Redfern, president & CEO, Lafarge Canada. "We look forward to advancing our Net Zero strategy by leveraging mineralization technology that allows us to use the CO2 from our own cement plants to produce carbon neutral or carbon negative sand and gravel products."

"By focusing on the aggregate component of concrete, our technology can have a more impactful influence on the embodied carbon in concrete than the traditional focus on reducing cement component alone. Collaborating with Holcim enables us to apply our CO2 mineralization technology to large-scale cement operations where we expect it will more squarely address CO2 emissions," commented Brent R. Constantz, Ph.D., CEO at Blue Planet.

About Lafarge Canada Inc.Lafarge is Canada's largest provider of sustainable construction materials and a member of the global group, Holcim. With 6,000 employees and 350 sites across Canada, our mission is to provide construction solutions and products that build progress for people and the planet. The cities where Canadians live, work, and raise their families along with communities' infrastructure benefit from the sustainable portfolio provided by Lafarge, consisting of Aggregates, Asphalt and Paving, Cement, Precast Concrete, Ready-Mix Concrete, and Road Construction.

About Holcim US
Holcim builds progress for people and the planet. As a global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions, Holcim is enabling greener cities, smarter infrastructure and improving living standards around the world. With sustainability at the core of its strategy Holcim is becoming a net zero company, with its people and communities at the heart of its success. The company is driving the circular economy as a world leader in recycling to build more with less. Holcim is the company behind some of the world's most trusted brands in the building sector including ACC, Aggregate Industries, Ambuja Cement, Disensa, Firestone Building Products, Geocycle, Holcim and Lafarge. Holcim is 70,000 people around the world who are passionate about building progress for people and the planet through four business segments: Cement, Ready-Mix Concrete, Aggregates and Solutions & Products.

In the United States, Holcim, includes close to 350 sites in 43 states and employs 7,000 people. Our customers rely on us to help them design and build better communities with innovative solutions that deliver structural integrity and eco-efficiency.

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SOURCE Holcim