In about four months, startup普罗米修斯材料expects to begin producing portland-cement-free “bio-masonry” units to replace embodied carbon-intensive cementitious masonry units, known as concrete block. The bio-blocks contain drastically less embodied carbon, thanks to a patent-pending photosynthetic bio-cementation process that combines nature's living microalgae with water, sunlight and CO₂.
这secret juice in the block is a biological binding agent, dubbed bio-cement, that replaces all of the portland cement, reducing EC in the material by 90%, says the startup. “We have discovered a way to accelerate the [bio-cementation] process,” and create a binding agent similar to the material that coral uses to build reefs and oysters use to generate shells, says Loren Burnett, co-founder, president and CEO of Prometheus.
Prometheus联合创始人兼首席技术顾问Wil Srubar III说：“这与标准混凝土生产是根本性的。”通过消除波特兰水泥，“我们正在治疗混凝土中[具体碳]问题的来源，而不是症状”，也是科罗拉多大学博尔德大学材料科学工程学教授兼UC Boulder的首席首席研究员Srubar补充说。由美国国防部的200万美元赠款发明了生物水泥的团队。
Novel Technology
这novel technology has “merit” and “potential,” says Andreas Tselebidis, director of sustainable concrete technology and solutions at Masterbuilder Solutions, who is not involved with Prometheus.
Tselebidis补充说：“藻类和蛋白质将起作用。”他说：“问题是我们是否可以将该技术用作结构材料。”
Tselebidis says much still needs to be tested to determine the structural and mechanical properties and the performance characteristics of the material, especially over time and under different weather conditions.
Structural Bio-concrete
“We will absolutely be involved in structural concrete as well,” perhaps with fibrous support instead of reinforcing steel, says Burnett. But it will take about two years to get through the certification process, he adds.
这biocement is a hydrogel-based living building material containing bacteria capable of microbially induced calcium-carbonate precipitation. LBMs are made by microorganisms.
这product is the brainchild of the four principal investigators of the research at the university, all of whom also are co-founders of Prometheus. The co-inventors, in addition to Srubar, are Mija Hubler, Sherri M. Cook and Jeffrey C. Cameron.
6月6日，普罗米修斯宣布已关闭其800万美元的A系列A融资。该交易使其可以在科罗拉多州朗蒙特的工厂中将生物水泥块商业化。
这product, with 2,000-psi compressive strength, will be marketed as an affordable, strong and durable near-zero-carbon alternative to portland cement-based concrete masonry units, says Prometheus.
No Pricing Details Yet
伯内特说，还没有定价细节。他说：“我们将在今年第四季度生产时有一个更好的了解。”
To further reduce the EC of the product, Prometheus will purchase renewable power for the plant and install solar PV. Burnett expects the bio-block to be a net-sequesterer of carbon, eventually.
Over the next two years, Prometheus also will use its funding to commercialize other net-zero-carbon building products. These include precast bio-composite elements—a decarbonized alternative to traditional precast portland cement-based roofing tiles, wall panels, sound barriers and other concrete elements.
这company also expects to produce a ready-mixed bio-composite—a decarbonized alternative to traditional portland cement-based ready-mixed concrete.
Financing Deal
融资协议由Sofinnova Partners，一家欧洲生命科学风险投资公司，在巴黎，伦敦和米兰设有办事处。这Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, architect-engineerSkidmore，Owings＆Merrill（SOM）,GAF和Autodesk基金会are participants.
SOM has for years sought to invest in green projects and products, says Brant Coletta, an SOM partner. "This rose up in our minds as something sustainable, accessible and usable," says Coletta. He is even more impressed that the products have as their building block an edible microorganism, akin to spirulina, which is used in healthful drinks.
SOM plans to design pavilions using bio-blocks, as soon as it is tested and approved. "It is not ready for specification yet," Coletta says.
To scale up availability in different regions, Prometheus is developing a licensing model under which it provides producers of the building products with the bio-material, which Burnett says is lightweight and easily shipped.
"This is all very exciting,” says Lionel Lemay, executive vice president of the National Ready-Mixed Concrete Association.
Lemay补充说：“ NRMCA支持所有可以帮助我们实现碳中性目标的创新技术。”“这项开发的技术以及传统的技术，例如混合的水泥，补充的水泥材料和混合物，以及其他令人兴奋的创新，将帮助我们到2050年到达零碳混凝土。”
