Carbon Capture and Mineralogic Sequestration – Addressing the World Wide Epidemic on a World Wide Scale

Turning Emissions into Infrastructure

Funded through the Grand Challenge Round 1 in 2014, Blue Planet Ltd. developed a breakthrough technology to capture, permanently sequester, and economically use carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from power plants, cement plants, steel plants, and other stationary sources. Their cost-effective and scalable platform converts CO₂ into carbonate mineral products—key ingredients in concrete, the world’s most widely used building material. By embedding CO₂ into construction materials, Blue Planet transforms concrete from a greenhouse gas emitter into a carbon-neutral or even carbon-negative solution. Unlike conventional carbon capture and storage (CCS) methods that require gas separation and underground injection, Blue Planet’s approach locks CO₂ into building materials—reducing emissions while meeting global infrastructure demand.

Pouring Concrete, Capturing Carbon

Blue Planet’s technology has the potential to significantly reduce the greenhouse gas footprint of ready-mix concrete. A typical cubic metre of concrete could account for approximately 356 kg of CO₂ emissions.  Blue Planet has commercialized its patented mineralization process, producing synthetic limestone aggregate that permanently stores CO₂. Each tonne of aggregate locks away 440 kg of CO₂, helping to create CarbonStar®-rated carbon-neutral and carbon-negative concrete, effectively creating “carbon negative concrete”. By replacing traditional cement and aggregate with carbon-sequestering alternatives, Blue Planet’s process offers a powerful pathway to decarbonize one of the world’s most emissions-intensive materials.

What’s next?

While Blue Planet was ultimately unable to deploy a pilot in Alberta as part of the Grand Challenge, they have since been successful elsewhere. In 2020 they announced raising of $10M of additional capital. Knife River, based out of Montana, announced an investment partnership with Blue Sky to create and market synthetic limestone, manufactured using Blue Planet’s technology. More recently, Blue Planet announced a partnership with Mitsubishi, who will be supporting Blue Planet as part of its corporate decarbonization efforts.  A recent demo project conducted by the San Francisco Airport used Blue Planet lightweight aggregate to construct their new terminal. In 2024, Blue Planet announced a strategic collaboration with Marathon Petroleum Corporation to scale up deployment and expand its impact across industrial sectors.