In this podcast, Rahul Shendure, CEO and Director at CarbonBuilt, discusses their technology that replaces carbon-intensive cement with industrial waste materials and captured carbon dioxide to decarbonize concrete. They explore the environmental impact of the cement and concrete industry, the challenges and opportunities of decarbonizing concrete production, and the validation process for alternative materials. Rahul also provides advice for those interested in careers in the climate startup world.
The urgent need to decarbonize the concrete industry, focusing on addressing emissions from cement production through scalable and cost-effective technologies.
Exploring a combination of moonshot ideas and incremental solutions to reduce emissions in the cement and concrete industry, such as carbon capture and fuel switching, depending on specific geography and time factor.
Deep dives
Decarbonizing the Concrete Industry
Rahul Shandere, CEO and Director of Carbon Build, discusses the urgency and importance of decarbonizing the concrete industry. With the cement industry being a significant contributor to global emissions, finding ways to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete is crucial. Shandere explains that the core challenge lies in addressing the emissions from cement production, which is mainly due to the chemical reaction and the heat required, typically derived from burning coal. He emphasizes the need for scalable and cost-effective technologies to reduce the emissions intensity in the production of concrete.
Opportunities for Decarbonizing Concrete
Shandere highlights the different approaches to decarbonize concrete, ranging from moonshot ideas to incremental solutions. Moonshot ideas involve fundamental changes to cement chemistry and equipment, which require significant time and capital investment. On the other hand, incremental solutions focus on making small changes to existing infrastructure or business practices. Shandere acknowledges the need for a combination of various solutions depending on the specific geography and time factor. He also mentions examples like carbon capture and fuel switching, which can contribute to reducing emissions in the cement and concrete industry.
Carbon Build's Technology and Market Strategy
Shandere explains that Carbon Build's technology aims to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete by replacing carbon-intensive cement with industrial waste materials and carbon dioxide. He emphasizes the advantage of implementing the technology at the concrete production stage, as it requires lower capital investment and can be tailored for specific applications. The technology involves reacting industrial byproduct materials with carbon dioxide to create a substitute for cement, resulting in a product indistinguishable from traditional concrete. Carbon Build's initial focus is on concrete masonry blocks, which have a significant market share, and they plan to expand into other applications in the future.
Driving Adoption and Economic Viability
Shandere discusses Carbon Build's business strategy, which primarily focuses on engaging with concrete producers as customers. By offering an economic value proposition to producers, Carbon Build aims to make the adoption of their technology financially viable. The reduced carbon emissions of the product can also be monetized through carbon credits or incentives, further improving the economic viability. Shandere mentions the importance of achieving a payback period of less than three years to accelerate industry transformation. He explains that policy support, such as grants and tax credits, can provide additional incentives, while market demand and customer preferences for sustainable products can drive premium pricing in the future.
The second episode of our hard-to-abate series features Rahul Shendure, CEO and Director at CarbonBuilt. The company has developed and commercialized a Carbon XPRIZE-winning technology to produce what it calls “ultra low carbon” concrete. We start with the basics of how concrete is such a high-emitting product, then describe how CarbonBuilt’s technology is reducing product costs and emissions by replacing cement with a combination of industrial waste materials and CO2 – often captured directly from industrial sources. Rahul also shares advice for those looking to build careers in climate, particularly in the start-up world.