Terra CO2 Raises $124 Million For Green Cement

In a record for the Terra CO2 sustainable building industry, Colorado-headquartered Terra CO2, which develops high-performance and sustainable building products, closed a $124.5 million Series B round of funding, the company announced. The new funding will be put towards ramping up the company's commercial-scale production of its next-generation low-carbon cement substitutes, as well as scaling its technology, talent, and projects.

Since it was established in 2016, Terra CO2 has been at the forefront of going green in construction because of its innovation of cementitious material with an aim to significantly decrease the carbon content in concrete. Its OPUS brand line of products is specifically designed to substitute Portland cement, a ubiquitous and carbon-ridden component of concrete. Terra's OPUS materials, its low-cost, abundant silicate rock feedstock, provide a cost-effective, climate-friendly alternative meeting global climate objectives.

The manufacture of cement is still one of the most significant industrial sources of greenhouse emissions worldwide and contributes to approximately 8% of the total volume of carbon dioxide emitted. For every 1,000 kilograms of conventional cement manufactured, the industry emits about 900 kilograms of CO2 into the atmosphere. It is thus one of the hardest industries to decarbonize. Terra's solutions immediately solve this problem. Its inaugural product, OPUS SCM (Supplementary Cementitious Material), is capable of replacing up to 50% of the use of Portland cement in concrete mixture, with every tonne replaced cutting CO2 emissions by 70% and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by 90%. Terra is also currently piloting OPUS ZERO, the next-generation material that will eradicate the use of Portland cement in concrete entirely.

The new capital will help Terra establish its initial commercial-sized plant, a 240,000 tons per annum high-end processing facility, in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex area. The plant is the cornerstone of Terra's commercial scale-up from pilot-scale demonstration to full-production scale, proving the commercial viability of its low-carbon cement technology. Further, the financing will be used to expand the company's staff, product development, and build-out of its commercialization strategy.

Terra CO2 Market CEO Bill Yearsley is pointing to the dual value of the firm, stating, "Terra's mission is to provide cementitious material solutions the market would purchase on cost and performance alone even if there was no carbon benefit. That Terra's cementitious materials also carry profound carbon mitigation is a plus for the built environment."

The round was led by a syndicate of prominent climate and industry investors. Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Eagle Materials, GenZero, and Just Climate came back for Terra's second Series B investment round, demonstrating increased faith in Terra's business model and technology. The round also had notable investment from Barclays Climate Ventures, with strategic investment coming from construction materials giant Cemex, logistics operator Prologis, and Siemens Financial Services.

Aside from equity funding, Terra also obtained a new credit facility from Silicon Valley Bank and Stifel Bank to fund its financial capacity to execute its scale-up strategy. The capital infusion indicates an increasing awareness of the merit of sustainable construction practices, particularly in areas that are generally difficult to decarbonize.

Describing the investment, Barclays Climate Ventures Head Steven Poulter mentioned, "Terra's technology presents a combination of commercial readiness and cost competitiveness. Its potential to enable decarbonisation of a high-emitting industry like cement is in line with our desire to invest in scalable, near-term solutions in hard-to-abate sectors."

As worldwide pressure to decarbonize the built environment gains speed, Terra CO2's strategy of blending low-cost materials with profound emission savings positions it at the vanguard of the green revolution. On top of the pace being created for ground breaking on its commercial plant and receiving support from leading partners, Terra is poised to drive expansion of low-carbon building solutions to scale on mega-infrastructure.