Progressive Planet Solutions Inc (TSX-V:PLAN) revealed that it will build a pilot plant that will produce up to 3,200 tons annually of PozGlass 100G, a clean-tech low-carbon cement that can dramatically reduce the cement industry's carbon footprint.
Made from 100% post-consumer glass, PozGlass replaces carbon-emitting ingredients used in the making of most cement, such as Portland Cement, according to the company. PozGlass can also replace fly ash in concrete, which is a by-product of burning coal and releases carbon dioxide (CO2) when heated.
PozGlass offers further environmental benefits by capturing and permanently sequestering CO2 emitted by Progressive Planet's natural gas dryer. For the first time in 30 years of operation, Progressive will sequester CO2 and convert it into sodium carbonate, a permanent carbon sequestration. Progressive’s legacy cat litter operations purchase sodium carbonate to create clumping cat litter, creating a circular economy within its own operations.
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"The cement industry emits 8% of the world's carbon emissions, something industry leaders now want to reverse as they plan to become Net Zero by 2050," Progressive Planet CEO Steve Harpur said in a statement.
"With PozGlass, a clean-tech breakthrough from our C-Quester Centre of Sustainable Innovation in Kamloops, we are producing one of many upcoming private-sector solutions that are needed to meet the 2050 Net Zero targets to fight climate change," he added.
PozGlass has already been produced and tested in partnership with various third-party labs using industry standards. The positive results have galvanized Progressive to begin construction of the PozGlass pilot plant, explained the company. Once the PozGlass production process is proven to work at this scale, Progressive said it plans to find industry partners to “finance and build other plants at an industrial scale” in various locations.
The best locations for industrial-scale PozGlass production are at the cement kilns in various cities, where PozGlass could be mixed with Portland cement at up to a 50% ratio, noted Progressive. Cement kilns create huge amounts of CO2 and are owned by the companies that market and distribute virtually all legacy cement products through their established networks.
"Progressive Planet operates one of the largest, natural gas-fired, industrial mineral dryers in Canada," added Harpur. "I'm happy to say that by producing PozGlass at our Kamloops headquarters, we will soon be sequestering CO2 we currently emit, contributing to British Columbia's and Canada's greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets."
Progressive noted that the pilot plant is expected to begin construction this year and be operational in 2024.
Headquartered in Kamloops, British Columbia, Progressive Planet is located in the heart of Canada's richest volcanic fields, which provide the prime ingredient in the shape of ancient volcanic ash and minerals for its clean-tech products and innovations.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
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