AMATEC

While essential to building the structures that enable and improve our everyday life, concrete is responsible for a whopping 8 percent of global carbon emissions; 90 percent of these emissions come from the production of cement, the primary strength-contributing ingredient of concrete. Amatec seeks to change this, with their revolutionary technology that enables production of high-density gypsum (HDG), which can be made simply and quickly, and they have demonstrated can match or exceed the performance properties of concrete, with a far lower carbon footprint. While existing processes to make gypsum require excessive amounts of water to ensure proper fluidity during the mixing step, which yield a weak material commonly used in drywall applications, Amatec’s founders have discovered an approach that allows them to use just a stoichiometric amount of water, yielding a strong, structural material with high compressive strength. Their HDG materials cure within minutes, can be made at lower cost than concrete, and also provide up to 60% lower embodied carbon than concrete. They are currently building capabilities to begin delivering their technology to the pre-cast and residential prefabrication markets.