Energy Efficiency, GHG Emissions, Industrial  -  April 15, 2024

Fortera Deploys Green Cement Plant

Fortera, a materials technology company, opened its Redding ReCarb® Plant, an industrial green cement and carbon mineralization facility in North America.

Located in Redding, California, Fortera’s plant will capture carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted during cement production and permanently sequester it by mineralizing the CO2 into ready-to-use cement. 

This technology will lower carbon emissions by 70% on a ton-for-ton basis and eliminate feedstock waste associated with traditional concrete production. The facility will also capture 6,600 tons of CO2 and produce 15,000 tons of low-carbon ReAct® cement. 

Fortera plans to integrate with green energy supply at future plants to achieve true zero-CO2 cement.

“Redding is the first of many plants in Fortera’s future as a green cement producer, and achieving this milestone brings the industry that much closer to realizing zero-carbon cement, which is critical for both our continued infrastructure and the health of our planet,” said Ryan Gilliam, CEO of Fortera, in a statement. “While significant, we recognize this is one step in a much larger effort to reach commercialization globally, and we are committed to scaling our technology using existing infrastructure to mobilize widespread adoption of low and zero-carbon cement."

Fortera’s ReCarb process is a collaborative bolt-on technology that works within existing cement production infrastructure rather than building new stand-alone plants from the ground up, providing a sustainability option that can be implemented quickly, economically and efficiently. 

In Redding, Fortera’s ReCarb facility is adjacent to CalPortland’s cement plant. Fortera captures CO2 emitted during calcination — the process occurring when limestone is heated in a kiln — and draws the gas from CalPortland’s flue gas stack into the ReCarb plant, where it undergoes mineralization to transform the gas into ReAct green cement, a rare form of calcium carbonate.

Following the opening of the Redding ReCarb plant, Fortera will begin producing ReAct green cement, which will be available later this quarter for ready-mix suppliers.