Katerva Honors Solidia for Processes to Reduce Carbon Emissions in Cement and Concrete Production

Solidia Technologies^® was selected as a finalist for the 2013 Katerva Award for its patented processes that reduce carbon emissions up to 70 percent in the production of cement and concrete, offering the building materials sector a profitable path to sustainability.

“Katerva is not just interested in ‘good’ ideas; the ideas we are after will create big changes in how we live on this planet,” says Katerva's founder, innovation expert Terry Waghorn. Founded in 2010, “Katerva's approach places emphasis squarely on action for a sustainable future—creating and implementing solutions to sustainability-related concerns.”

Considered the pinnacle of global sustainability recognition, Katerva’s nomination process “is designed to identify the game-changing, sustainable innovations that have the greatest potential for both impact and scale.” Solidia was a finalist in the Materials & Resources category. The nearly 500 nominated projects were rated for validity, scalability, policy, and impact. Finalists are the top five projects from each of ten categories.

Suitable for large- and small-scale applications, Solidia’s technology starts with a sustainable cement, cures concrete with carbon dioxide (CO₂) instead of water, reduces carbon emissions up to 70%, and recycles 60 to 100% of the water used in production. Using the same raw materials and existing equipment as traditional concretes, the resulting CO₂-cured concrete products are higher performing, cost less to produce, and cure in less than 24 hours as compared to the 28 days required for traditional concretes to reach full strength.

Currently in commercialization, Solidia’s technology and product development is reinforced by additional third-party research collaboration and testing, including ongoing research in concrete applications with industry leader Lafarge and a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration to examine transportation infrastructure applications at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, a U.S. Federal laboratory. The U.S. Department of Energy features Solidia as an energy efficiency success story of the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. The original generation of the technology was developed at Rutgers.

Solidia’s technology helps cement and concrete manufacturers worldwide meet or exceed the industry’s 2050 CO₂ reduction goals articulated in the Cement Sustainability Initiative of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.