Carbonaide secures first international order for climate-friendly concrete from Mammut in Switzerland

Finnish startup Carbonaide, focused on developing climate-friendly concrete, has secured its first commercial order from abroad. The company aims to capture a total of 90,000 tons of carbon dioxide and integrate it into concrete by the end of this year. The financing for this initiative comes from Swiss outdoor brand Mammut, which is offsetting its own carbon emissions through this purchase.

Carbonaide’s technology involves solidifying carbon dioxide into the construction material, consequently reducing, or even eliminating, the need for traditional cement. CEO Tapio Vehmas expressed that this deal has essentially secured the company’s funding for the year and proves that their technology and value chain operate successfully at an industrial scale.

The carbon dioxide acquired by Mammut is sourced from a local waste-to-energy plant in Denmark, where it is captured from flue gases before being shipped to Finland by sea. Vehmas indicated that the optimal scenario would be to capture and store the carbon dioxide in the country of origin.

Carbonaide, founded two years ago, opened its first production line in Hollola, Päijät-Häme, last year, with initial support from organizations including the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Lakan Betoni, and Vantaan Energia. The company aims to establish another production line in Denmark next year and is in discussions regarding two new factories in Finland.

In the coming years, Carbonaide plans to open up to ten production units across the Nordic countries and aims to capture approximately 500 million tons of carbon dioxide annually by 2050. This target aligns with 10-20 percent of the total international emissions from the concrete industry. “The potential for carbon sequestration in concrete is immense,” Vehmas noted, emphasizing the technology’s significance in reducing global carbon dioxide emissions.