For many organizations committed to sustainability, going carbon neutral is considered a crowning achievement. Carbon Limit, however, believes organizations can do even better. The Boca Raton-based climate tech company has developed cutting-edge technology that allows its users to push beyond carbon neutral and enter the realm of carbon negative.
“We have created a negative emission technology,” explains Tim Sperry, Founder of Carbon Limit. “It not only captures, but permanently stores the carbon dioxide that results from organizations’ carbon footprints. Our main objective is to leverage the tech to decarbonize industries, starting with the concrete industry.”
Cleaning up an industry with significant environmental impacts
The concrete industry is considered to have a colossal carbon footprint. Concrete production, which relies heavily on the use of fossil fuels, contributes to carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, the widespread use of concrete in urban areas contributes to the “heat island” effect, which raises temperatures, increases demand for cooling, and drives the production of more greenhouse gases.
“We are decarbonizing the concrete industry, which is responsible for nearly 8 percent of all global carbon emissions,” says Tim. “Climate change is the biggest environmental problem of our time, with carbon emissions being the key contributor. The technology that we have developed provides an easily adoptable, affordable, and globally scalable solution that can promote long-term sustainability for greener cities around the world.”
The climate tech that Tim and his team have developed is a green cement replacement that removes carbon dioxide from the air. In effect, concrete made with Carbon Limit’s cement acts as a sponge that captures and stores carbon dioxide permanently — and it is the only product of its kind on the market.
“Based on the results of third-party testing, we have determined that a one-mile stretch of road using our technology can remove as much carbon dioxide from the air as 250,000 trees remove over a single year,” Tim says. “With more than 8 billion tons of concrete being poured annually around the world, Carbon Limit’s solution presents an opportunity for impactful and permanent CO2 reduction.”
Furthermore, Carbon Limit’s solution lowers the carbon footprint associated with manufacturing concrete by 27% percent compared with traditional production.
Empowering sustainable development with green concrete
As cities grow, so does the need for infrastructure to support increased housing, industry, and transportation demands. Meeting those needs often means removing the green spaces that naturally remove carbon dioxide from the air, covering those spaces with concrete structures. The result is an environment that not only produces more carbon dioxide, but also has fewer resources for removing it.
In addition, landscapes outside of urban areas are being impacted dramatically by deforestation. Whether for the purpose of logging, ranching, or farming, immense sections of forested land are being cleared on nearly every continent. With fewer trees, the planet is less capable of processing the carbon dioxide that is being produced by the growing population. The result is more carbon dioxide in the air, which contributes to a number of environmental problems.
“With so many trees that naturally sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere being cut down for urban development, cities must invest in alternatives that can mitigate the environmental impact by empowering decarbonization,” says Tim. “Prioritizing that step allows them to counteract the environmental harm they are causing through their expansion.”
Carbon Limit steps into that space with a unique solution. By leveraging its climate tech, the concrete used in roads, buildings, and more becomes a tool for removing carbon dioxide from the environment, rather than compounding it. As a result, it solves one of the most challenging environmental issues associated with urban development.
