Funding boost for low carbon concrete
Published: 26 September, 2023
A $750,000 Regional Strategic Partnership Fund loan will help scale up Neocrete to help bring their carbon neutral concrete to wider markets, both domestic and international.
Neocrete co-founders Zarina Bazoeva and Matt Kennedy-Good.
Neocrete Limited is a Kiwi company developing low carbon concrete, using activated natural volcanic ash instead of cement.
Around 900kg of carbon is emitted to make one tonne of cement. Neocrete emits only 50kg per tonne.
The manufacture of cement releases 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, when clay and limestone are heated to extreme temperatures to ‘activate’ them.
Neocrete’s goal is to develop and bring carbon neutral concrete to the world, from its innovation centre in New Zealand, with an aim to reduce global emissions by 1% by 2033.
Government investment through Kānoa will help build a manufacturing plant in Taupō.
About Neocrete
Neocrete was founded in New Zealand in 2018 by Zarina Bazoeva and Matt Kennedy-Good, focused on making carbon neutral, resilient concrete - with no cement.
The most enduring buildings in the world were made 2,000 years ago by the Ancient Romans, using volcanic ash instead of cement. The problem is that this concrete takes too long to set for modern building practices.
Neocrete’s Activator is nano-engineered to make natural volcanic ash behave like cement – making it suitable for modern building practices. It also makes concrete waterproof and more resistant to the impacts of climate change. Neocrete is proven technology and can currently reduce cement in concrete by 40%. They plan to begin selling their product to the market in 2024.
Neocrete is a finalist in the Innovandi Global Cement and Concrete Association Challenge, and was runner up in the Sustainable Business Network’s Climate Action Leader Award.
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