The World Cement Association (WCA) has further expanded its international network of members by welcoming Blue Planet as an Associate Corporate Member.
Blue Planet is a Silicon Valley company that has developed a novel carbon capture and utilisation system. The system provides a cost-effective and permanent way to remove CO2 from the air. Its technology uses CO2 as a raw material for making carbonate rocks, which are used in place of quarried natural limestone rock, the principal component of concrete. The CO2 from flue gas is converted to carbonate by bringing CO2-containing gas in contact with a water-based capture solution. This process differentiates Blue Planet from most carbon capture methods as the captured CO2 does not require a purification step, which is an energy- and capital-intensive process.
"With cement being the source of roughly seven per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions, and current technologies unable to achieve the levels of decarbonisation needed to meet the Paris climate goals, it is vital for our members to be engaging with innovative technology providers developing scalable commercial solutions for CO2 mitigation," said Ian Riley, CEO at WCA. "By bringing the latest technologies and best practice to the attention of our industry members, we increase the chance of evolving a sustainable cement ecosystem. I am therefore especially pleased to be welcoming Blue Planet, and look forward to their input on improving industry standards worldwide."
"Blue Planet was launched specifically to mitigate global CO2 emissions by transforming it into synthetic limestone aggregate for use in concrete, so our mission is very closely aligned with WCA’s efforts in the climate change arena," said Brent Constantz, founder and CEO at Blue Planet. "We have been impressed with WCA’s work towards decarbonisation and the quality of its member support and engagement programmes, so we are very much looking forward to collaborating on our shared goals."
