Fortera’s carbon capture technology offers promising breakthrough for cement decarbonisation

The cement sector sits at the nexus of a major decarbonisation challenge for heavy industry: it is indispensable to construction yet intrinsically carbon‑intensive because the primary chemical reaction that produces clinker releases CO₂. Industry estimates place the sector’s share of global emissions at roughly 7% and project continued demand growth in regions such as India and Africa, underscoring the need for scalable mitigation approaches. According to the International Energy Agency, the sector is the third‑largest industrial energy consumer and, under current trajectories, direct cement emissions could rise without substantial intervention. The World Cement Association likewise highlights that the release of CO₂ from limestone decomposition remains the core technical hurdle to full decarbonisation.

Presidio Ventures, the US venture arm of Sumitomo Corporation, has moved to address that gap through an equity and commercial engagement with Fortera, a US firm developing a process that captures process CO₂ from clinker manufacture and mineralises it into cementitious material. Myles Himeno, Director at Presidio Ventures, framed the rationale succinctly: “The cement and concrete industry accounts for approximately 7–8% of global CO₂ emissions, making it one of the largest single sources of emissions worldwide.”

Presidio judged Fortera’s approach on three practical criteria: it tackles emissions at the clinker stage where most process CO₂ originates; it has advanced beyond lab scale into commercial operation; and it is compatible with incumbent supply chains. “Fortera possesses a technology capable of reducing CO₂ emissions from the cement manufacturing process , which represents over 90% of total emissions in this industry, by 50–60%, giving it the potential for substantial market impact. Based on this significance, we decided to invest in the company,” Himeno said.

Fortera’s ReCarb® process is presented as a bolt‑on to existing plants, enabling producers to retain conventional raw materials, kiln systems and logistics while turning emitted CO₂ into a usable binder. That integration strategy lowers barriers to adoption compared with routes that demand novel feedstocks or wholesale plant redesign. “At the time of our investment, Fortera had already begun commissioning a 15,000-ton commercial-scale plant, positioning it as one of the closest startups in the field to full-scale implementation,” Himeno added.

The company has publicly reported operational progress in California: its industrial facility captures several thousand tonnes of CO₂ annually and manufactures low‑carbon cement products for the ready‑mix market, a step that Fortera and its backers say validates the technology’s commercial mechanics. The firm also cites third‑party partnerships and capital from corporate climate funds as evidence of market traction; industry observers note that such ties are important to bridge early demonstrations and wide deployment.

Independent research points to a complementary dynamic within cement materials themselves: natural and engineered carbonation processes can re‑uptake a meaningful share of process emissions over an asset’s life. A 2024 analysis published in Scientific Data estimated global cement CO₂ uptake approaching nearly one gigatonne per year, equivalent to more than half of contemporaneous process emissions. While that uptake does not eliminate the need to abate kiln‑stage emissions, it illustrates an additional pathway to lower net lifecycle intensity when combined with process capture.

Sumitomo’s interest extends beyond capital. The group has signed a memorandum of understanding with Fortera and Sumitomo Osaka Cement to study the feasibility of deploying Fortera’s process in Japan , a market that the company describes as advanced on decarbonisation policy and therefore strategically important for global roll‑out. “Japan is among the most advanced countries in Asia in terms of decarbonization initiatives and therefore represents an important milestone for Fortera as it plans its global expansion. We believe there is substantial value in supporting the deployment of Fortera’s technology in the Japanese market,” Himeno said. Sumitomo’s existing assets in cement logistics and ready‑mixed concrete could create commercial routes for technology adoption, the firm argues.

The sector’s scale and recent emissions trajectory underline the urgency. A separate industry study shows that sectoral CO₂ emissions more than doubled over the past two decades, driven principally by growing cement demand in emerging markets; global emissions from cement were reported at more than 2.6 billion tonnes in 2021. Against that backdrop, the IEA’s Cement Technology Roadmap calls for a portfolio of measures, including material efficiency, alternative fuels, clinker substitution and carbon capture, to trim emissions substantially by mid‑century.

For corporate investors and industrial adopters, the critical questions now are cost, durability and certification. Fortera asserts its product meets required performance metrics and, in recent months, announced laboratory and standards milestones intended to demonstrate equivalence with conventional cements. Such verification will be central to convincing asset owners and contractors to specify alternative binders at scale, particularly for infrastructure with long design lives.

Presidio frames its investment as targeted, pragmatic support for a technology that aligns with existing manufacturing ecosystems and addresses the largest single source of emissions in cementmaking. “Leveraging this strong business foundation, we believe we can make a meaningful contribution not only in supporting the marketing of Fortera’s technology in Japan, but also in engaging potential partner cement manufacturers,” Himeno said.

As the industry pursues multiple decarbonisation levers, solutions that can be retrofitted into current plants and validated against performance standards may accelerate uptake. Nevertheless, analysts caution that a single technology will not suffice; meeting deep decarbonisation goals will require coordinated policy, demand‑side measures, material innovation and large‑scale deployment of capture and sequestration across diverse regional markets. Fortera’s progress, and the corporate backing it has secured, will be watched closely as a test case for whether capture‑and‑mineralisation can move from demonstration to widespread industrial application.