LONGMONT, Colorado – November 7, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is providing $10 million in funding to their National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to collaborate with Prometheus Materials – and a distinguished team of partner institutions – to establish methods for measuring, reporting and verifying carbon dioxide (CO2) removal and sequestration in cement and concrete. Through this initiative, the company expands its role as a leader in the decarbonization of cement and concrete – which currently accounts for 8% of the world’s annual CO2 emissions, pumping 11 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every day.
Prometheus Materials, with funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Technology Commercialization Fund administered by the DOE Office of Technology Transitions (OTT), will collaborate with the project team to:
- Advance technical capabilities, adapting and refining state-of-the-art techniques to measure carbon dioxide removal and accelerate new tools for CDR toward market readiness.
- Quantify net-carbon removed, establishing robust frameworks for cradle-to-grave life-cycle analysis.
- Improve access to and understanding of the data-driven models produced by developing user-friendly, interactive software for operation of measurement equipment and data analysis.
- Facilitate market transformation and build bankability via techno-economic analysis and workforce development, while also actively engaging with impacted communities, especially disadvantaged communities, to identify and work toward positive impacts of new technologies.
While these objectives have far-reaching applicability across the CDR industry and beyond, this critical project will utilize them to assess carbon-negative cement curing, mineralization for carbon-negative materials from waste and supplementary cementitious materials.
“We are honored to collaborate with the DOE, NREL, ORNL, LLNL and this project’s other esteemed partners on this essential mission to enhance the innovation and impact of CO2 removal,” said Prometheus Materials’ President, CEO and Co-founder, Loren Burnett. “This DOE initiative will advance CDR solutions toward wider-scale commercialization, benefitting both the business world and – most importantly – the climate of our shared world,” added Burnett.
About Prometheus Materials
Prometheus Materials provides sustainable building materials that accelerate the world’s transition to a carbon-negative future. Inspired by nature, the company’s process uses microalgae in their ProZero™ line of carbon-negative supplemental blends for ready-mix applications, zero-carbon precast products and licensed material solutions for existing concrete manufacturers. Learn more about how the company enables the decarbonization of the construction industry at prometheusmaterials.com.