Brimstone secures US$189m to decarbonise cement industry

Brimstone, the California-based building materials company that specialises in low-carbon cement production, has been awarded an investment of US$189m by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED). The funding is to be used to finance the construction of a commercial-scale cement plant which incorporates Brimstone’s advanced decarbonisation technology. 

The proposed plant would produce up to 140,000tpa of high-quality ordinary Portland cement (OPC) while avoiding 120,000tpa of CO₂ emissions. Brimstone uses carbon-free calcium silicate rocks that are globally abundant and less carbon-intensive than traditional materials. Its processes also generate magnesium compounds that permanently absorbs CO₂ from the air, decarbonising cement production even further. In July 2023 Brimstone announced that its cement meets C150 standards, proving that their low-carbon cement performs identically to traditional carbon-intense cement.

The company’s co-founder and CEO, Cody Fink, said that, “The United States is leading the global clean industrial revolution in no small part due to efforts like the Industrial Demonstrations Program, and we're thrilled that the Department of Energy has chosen Brimstone for this investment.” He added, “Brimstone has uniquely reengineered the process to decarbonise cement, at low cost, while delivering the same product builders have trusted for generations. Today's announcement promises to be transformational, validating Brimstone's potential to decarbonise the cement industry and turbo-charging our path to market.”

The hard-to-abate cement industry has been shown to be a driver for climate change, responsible for 7.5 per cent of global carbon emissions and 5.5 per cent of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As global cement production is now exceeding 4bnt annually, Brimstone’s pioneering decarbonisation solutions are becoming increasingly vital. 

Co-founder and CTO of Brimstone, Hugo Leandri, stated that, “By producing 100 per cent, industry-standard cement from a widely available, carbon-free feedstock, the Brimstone process is optimised for climate benefit and replicability. Negotiating an award from the Industrial Demonstrations Program will accelerate our path to commercialize Brimstone’s technology, create high-quality, clean industry jobs in the United States, and—ultimately—decarbonise cement production around the world.”

This investment by the DOE, through the Industrial Demonstrations Program, is part of its cement-decarbonisation strategy, as outlined in its “Pathways to Commercial Liftoff” report. The project will create up to 450 construction jobs and 100 permanent jobs at numerous skill levels. The Industrial Demonstrations Program was created, expanded, and funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.