Furno, a company focused on decarbonizing the cement production industry, announced the closing of an oversubscribed $6.5 million seed funding round and introduced a transformative end-to-end cement production unit called the Furno Brick.
This oversubscribed round was led by Energy Capital Ventures (ECV) and joined by O’Shaughnessy Ventures, Cantos, and Neotribe. Breakthrough Energy participated in earlier non-dilutive funding of the company. This funding round will enable the company to continue scaling its technology, provide more customers with samples to garner feedback, and, perhaps most significantly, help in the development of the Furno Brick.
The Furno Brick operates at over 80% thermal efficiency, doubling what standard cement plants are able to achieve. Even though conventional cement plants require four substantial and mechanically distinct stages to produce cement (preheating, calcining, sintering, and cooling), Furno’s reactor – combined with its novel combustion technology – combines four stages into one compact reactor. This reduces the cost and the carbon along with the physical footprint.
Cement – which is the second most used material on the planet after water – accounts for 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions due to inefficient production processes. Considering that the effects of climate change are on the rise, innovation is desperately needed in the sector, but it is nearly impossible to execute as there is currently no affordable way to make cement at smaller scales.
The capital requirements for new cement plants are approaching $1 billion for a single facility. And emissions regulations are on the rise and the current technology for cement production leaves very little wiggle room for meeting the evolving environmental rules.
Furno addresses the immediate need for change and innovation in the cement sector with the world’s first modular and carbon-neutral cement plant that scales on demand, drastically reducing the barrier to entry and unlocking local or small-scale cement production.
The company’s novel kiln and combustion technology enables for efficient cement production using gas-based versus solid fuels, which dramatically reduces carbon dioxide emissions and eliminates nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur oxides (SOx) entirely. Furno’s design also enables producers to build cement plants that are compact and cost-efficient and enables them to add incremental capacity.
About 70-80% of the costs involved in constructing a cement plant are from labor and installation alone, with the remaining 20% to 30% of expenditures going to custom equipment often sourced through international suppliers. The Furno Brick helps reduce these costs by enabling pre-fabrication and standardization, thus drawing down production, installation and permitting expenses.
Demand for cement has grown substantially over the last few decades as global development expands. Furno was created out of the growing need for innovation and accessibility to entry in the space. And Furno’s approach is driven by face-to-face interactions with customers to ensure its solution addresses their specific needs and pain points. Furno’s technology makes cement sustainable and accessible for manufacturers everywhere regardless of size or capital. And Furno provides a mini-mill for the cement and concrete industry.
KEY QUOTES:
“At Furno, we have the ability to produce Ordinary Portland cement now, adapt to a range of gas-based fuels and materials innovations as they emerge and meet demand where it exists while still abiding by a shifting regulatory landscape. Our mission is to go the distance by innovating at the heart of cement production and operating as a complement to other technological developments in the cement space. Our cement far exceeds ASTM standards, a bare-minimum quality threshold. While most companies tout meeting these standards and stop there, we have continued to refine our process and are on target to surpass the even higher commercial requirements set by significantly-sized customers eager for our solution.”
- Gurinder Nagra, Furno founder and chief executive officer
“It is an exciting time in the cement and concrete industry, with dozens of emerging technologies working to decarbonize the space. After researching most of them, we believe Furno stands out as one that has the potential to scale most quickly and be most disruptive to traditional cement plants. We are excited to closely monitor their progress and be one of their early adopters.”
- Marty Ozinga, chief executive officer of Ozinga Bros, one of Chicago’s leading concrete companies
“As part of our Green Molecules investment thesis, ECV analyzed all of the innovations relevant to the cement and concrete industry. It was immediately clear to us that Furno had the best team, technology, business model and competitive advantages. Furno’s game changing ‘mini-kiln’ innovation enables a level of decarbonization and market adoption that is in a class all of its own.”
- Vic Pascucci, managing general partner and co-founder of Energy Capital Ventures
