Queens Carbon, a US-based startup company developing a ground-breaking technology to eliminate CO2 from cement production, has been selected to receive funding from the US Department of Energy (DoE). The US$14.5m in funding comes via the DoE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) as part of its Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential (SCALEUP) programme. Queens Carbon will use the funding to construct an on-site pilot facility to develop its novel, low-temperature, zero-CO2 technology in partnership with a commercial partner in the cement industry.
Queens Carbon was one of four transformative technologies chosen to receive a total of US$63.5m in funding. The SCALEUP programme provides new funding to previous ARPA-E awardees that have successfully de-risked their technology and established a viable route to commercial deployment. This is the third group of projects selected under the programme.
Queens Carbon is developing a hydrothermal processing technology to significantly reduce the energy consumption and cost for both carbon capture and carbon-neutral cement production. Its patented approach leverages hydrothermal technology to reduce the temperature of carbonate mineral processing to less than 538°C (1000°F) compared with typical calcination temperatures of greater than (982°C) 1800°F.
Furthermore, this game-changing technology is also capable of producing carbon-neutral cement at less than 538°C (1000°F), which is substantially lower than typical cement production temperatures of over 1482°C (2700°F). Ultimately, this temperature reduction enables the use of renewable energy technologies and decreases the energy and cost requirements for carbon emissions avoidance and capture.
