CarbonCure & Heirloom to store atmospheric CO2 in concrete

Canada’s CarbonCure Technologies and US-based Heirloom have signed an agreement to permanently store atmospheric CO2 captured by Heirloom’s Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology in concrete using CarbonCure’s carbon mineralization technologies.

The agreement advances the DAC-to-concrete storage concept the two carbon removal companies demonstrated in early 2023 and provides an immediately available storage solution that will enable Heirloom to scale its technology in the coming years. 

In February, Heirloom, CarbonCure and concrete producer Central Concrete made history by demonstrating for the first time ever the ability to capture CO2 from the atmosphere and permanently embed it in concrete. The CO2 was captured at Heirloom’s DAC facility in Brisbane, California (CA). Using CarbonCure’s Reclaimed Water Technology, that CO2 was permanently stored in concrete supplied to construction projects across San Jose, CA. CarbonCure says its process locks away CO2 for centuries, ensuring it will not be returned to the atmosphere, even if the concrete is demolished. 

Building on this success, the agreement will see CarbonCure permanently store CO2 captured by Heirloom’s DAC facilities in proximate concrete plants. In addition to this agreement, Heirloom and CarbonCure are also working together following notification of selection by the US Department of Energy (DOE) for a DAC Hub project in Illinois. 

“The urgency of deploying and scaling removal technologies becomes more clear with each temperature record that is broken,” said Shashank Samala, CEO of Heirloom. “Working with CarbonCure opens an immediately available, permanent storage pathway that will allow Heirloom to continue scaling our technology today. Being able to immediately move forward with real-world deployments that permanently sequester CO2 will be invaluable as we race to meet the urgency that climate change requires.” 

“CarbonCure is very excited to collaborate with Heirloom, demonstrating the very near-term opportunity for carbon removal, not just this decade but over the next few months,” said Robert Niven, CEO of CarbonCure Technologies. “Ours is a climate solution that puts captured CO2 to good use, permanently storing it and using it to build greener homes, highways, high-rises and more.”