Sustainable building materials provider Terra CO2 announced that it has raised $124.5 million a Series B financing round, with proceeds to be used by the company to build out its commercial facilities to produce low-cost materials for low-carbon cement.
Founded in 2016, Colorado-based Terra provides high performance and environmentally sustainable solutions for the global construction materials market. The company’s OPUS products provide a low carbon alternative for cement replacement in concrete made with abundant, inexpensive, climate-friendly silicate rock feedstock. Terra’s first product, OPUS SCM (Supplementary Cementitious Material) can offset the use of up to 50% of Portland cement, with every ton replaced representing a 70% reduction in CO2 emissions and a 90% NOx. The company is in full concrete trials for its OPUS ZERO technology, aimed at replacing 100% of Portland cement.
Building materials are a key source of global greenhouse gas emissions. Cement production, an ingredient in concrete, accounts for approximately 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions, with over 900 kg of CO2 emissions generated for every 1000 kg of material produced.
According to Terra, the new capital will be used to enable the company to move forward on its first 240,000 ton per year commercial advanced-processing facility in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, as well as to help the company significantly grow its team, develop more commercial projects, and advance new generations of cementitious products.
Terra CEO Bill Yearsley said:
“Terra’s mandate is to deliver cementitious material solutions that the market would purchase solely based on cost and performance, even if there was no carbon benefit. The fact that Terra’s cementitious materials also offer significant carbon mitigation is an additional advantage for the built environment.”
The announcement marks the second round of Terra’s Series B financing, with initial round announced earlier this year. The Series B was co-led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Eagle Materials, GenZero, and Just Climate, with the new round including a major investment by Barclays Climate Ventures, as well as participation from logistics company Prologis, construction materials giant Cemex, and Siemens Financial Services. Terra also announced a new credit facility provided by Silicon Valley Bank and Stifel Bank.
Steven Poulter, Head of Barclays Climate Ventures, said:
“Terra’s technology offers a combination of commercial readiness and cost competitiveness. Its ability to support the decarbonization of a heavy industry such as cement aligns with our commitment to support scalable, near-term solutions in hard-to-abate sectors.”
