Carbonaide secures first commercial order for climate-friendly concrete from abroad

Finnish startup Carbonaide, which is developing climate-friendly concrete, has secured its first commercial order from abroad. By the end of this year, Carbonaide will capture a total of 90,000 tons of carbon dioxide in its concrete. The Swiss clothing brand Mammut is funding this carbon capture initiative to offset its own climate emissions. Carbonaide’s technology enables carbon dioxide to be solidified into construction concrete, reducing or even eliminating the need for traditional binders like cement.

“This deal has effectively secured our funding for this year. At the same time, we are able to demonstrate that the technology and value chain work on an industrial scale,” said CEO Tapio Vehmas.

The captured carbon dioxide will be sourced from Denmark, where a local waste incineration plant extracts it from flue gases before it is transported by sea to Finland. Ideally, Vehmas noted, CO2 could be stored in concrete in its country of origin.

Carbonaide aims to open a production line in Denmark next year and is in discussions about establishing two new factories in Finland. In the coming years, the company plans to open as many as ten production units across the Nordic countries, with a target of capturing approximately 500 million tons of carbon dioxide annually by 2050. This carbon capture goal represents 10-20 percent of the international emissions from the entire concrete industry.

“The potential for carbon capture in concrete is enormous due to the vast amount of concrete used worldwide. This technology is crucial for reducing global carbon dioxide emissions,” Vehmas concluded.