Low-carbon cement manufacturer Fortera has partnered with multinational Sumitomo Corporation to enable widespread distribution of Fortera’s carbon-reducing ReCarb technology in Asian markets.
The two companies have agreed a memorandum of understanding to focus on the deployment of Fortera’s low-carbon cement plants with some of Asia’s largest cement manufacturers. The Japanese market will be the initial focus of the partnership, with multiple locations of interest identified.
Sumitomo’s venture capital arm, Presidio Ventures, participated in Fortera’s Series C fundraising round earlier this year.
“We believe that quickly addressing the cement and concrete industry’s 8% contribution to global emissions is necessary to meet climate goals,” said Ryosuke Nagai, CEO of the Industrial Materials and Systems Strategic Business Unit at Sumitomo Corporation, in a statement. Nagai said that after visiting the ReCarb plant in Fortera, California, and seeing the plant in operation, Sumitomo wanted to bring the carbon mitigation process to the Asian market. “We place a very high value on social and environmental responsibility, making Fortera a natural partner as we seek to help decarbonisation on a global scale,” added the statement.
Fortera’s ReCarb mineralization process uses a standard cement plant with added proprietary systems to capture CO2 emissions from the furnaces and turn them into the cement product. Tests have shown it can deliver 60% to 70% CO reduction2 emissions per ton of material produced.
When combined with renewable energy, Fortera says it can achieve zero CO2 emissions cement production. ReCarb technology takes advantage of proprietary reactor-based mineralization, which uses CO2 as raw material.
“This partnership is a key moment for the future of sustainable cement production because you cannot have a significant impact on the industry’s carbon emissions without partnering with the industry’s major players in Asia, which hosts the market largest cement factory in the world”. Ryan Gilliam, CEO of Fortera, said in a statement. “Because our technology is tailored to the industry in which it is located, it can be deployed anywhere in the world using the infrastructure, raw materials and supply chains of that region. This partnership with Sumitomo will allow us to establish a foundation solid in Asia at the same time as we solidify our country’s project portfolio.”
ReAct Green Cement meets ASTM International standards and aligns with current concrete density and strength regulations. It can be used independently as cement without clinker or mixed with normal cement to improve strength and workability.
