A Calgary company’s efforts to decarbonize the cement industry is accelerating with a significant contribution from Sustainable Development and Technology Canada.

The crown corporation recently announced a $2.6 million grant to ZS2 Technologies Ltd. to develop direct air capture technology, which permanently sequesters CO2 from the atmosphere into high performance cement building materials.

“Traditional cement production has a huge environmental impact when it comes to GHG emissions. ZS2 Technologies is using waste products from extractive industries as feedstock for a cement alternative. SDTC is proud to support this innovative company as they develop this exciting carbon-negative building product.” Says Leah Lawrence, President and CEO of SDTC.

ZS2 Technologies is commissioning equipment for its pilot plant which will capture CO2 from the atmosphere and sequester in cement building materials—like tiles, cement board, and cladding—using raw materials provided by their research partners Baymag Inc. and Progressive Planet Solutions Inc. The pilot plant will be operational this spring and will produce magnesium cement building materials with 10 per cent of their weight comprised of sequestered CO2.

“We’ve proven that we can not only capture and sequester CO2, but we can also create high-quality, cost-effective building materials the world needs at the same time. Receiving funding from SDTC will allow us to commercialize this technology faster, meaning we’ll be able to provide magnesium cement-based materials to markets across North America and the globe, drastically reducing the carbon footprint of the construction industry.” Says Doug Brown, Chief Technology Officer at ZS2 Technologies.

This is the latest advancement for ZS2 Technologies after they were named one of the Top 60 Milestone 1 companies worldwide in the $100 million Carbon Removal XPRIZE funded by the Musk Foundation.

Currently ZS2 Technologies manufactures high performance building envelopes for customers across North America using their proprietary ZS2 TechBoard and TechPanels from their manufacturing facility in Calgary, Alberta.