Climate tech startup CURA and construction firm Aecon Group Inc. plan to test and deploy CURA’s solution to decarbonize the cement industry, a critical step to prove its use in real-world building projects.

The first phase of the agreement will have Vancouver-based CURA providing Aecon with cement made using its electrochemically produced lime in order to test its performance. If the trial meets expectations, the next step would be to use CURA’s technology for an Aecon client’s project.

“What these partnerships really unlock is customer validation of the end user,” CURA’s chief technology officer and co-founder Phil De Luna told Sustainable Biz Canada in an interview.

“And it shows the cement majors that there are project developers and construction companies that want to use this product.”

Aecon, based in Toronto, is a “leader in sustainability” he added. The company has received a great deal of interest from its clients to use more low-carbon materials. Adopting sustainable technologies like CURA’s grants a competitive advantage in the construction industry, De Luna said.

CURA’s technology

Founded in 2025, CURA’s team is pioneering a means of decarbonizing the production of lime, an important cement component.

Typically produced in a carbon-intensive step of preheating and burning limestone, CURA has developed an alternative method. Its team devised an electrochemical process to separate carbon dioxide (CO2) from the limestone before it goes into a kiln. The output is hydrated lime, which can be sold as cement ingredient. The CO2 could be stored away or used for industrial purposes.

“Our ultimate goal is to take that hydrated lime and put that into the cement kiln instead of limestone, because there’s no carbon in it anymore,” De Luna summarized.

CURA estimates its technology could slash the carbon emissions from cement production by up to 85 per cent. The cement industry is responsible for approximately eight per cent of global CO2 emissions, and is widely viewed as an industry that is difficult to decarbonize.

The CURA-Aecon partnership

For Phase 1 of the partnership, which is expected to take one year, CURA plans to produce approximately one tonne of cement using its hydrated lime to test the performance and life-cycle against conventionally produced cement.

CURA is producing hydrated lime from its labs in the University of Calgary. Over the coming months the company plans to deliver concrete samples made in small kilns to Aecon.

The test is intended to be “very boring,” De Luna said. CURA hopes to “see the exact same specs” from the cement compared to industry peers. The company also looks to acquire data on the carbon emission reductions from its technology.

If the first phase progresses smoothly, CURA and Aecon plan to move to Phase 2 in early 2027, where cement made using CURA's technology would be used for a real-world Aecon project.

CURA expects to have its pilot-scale facility operating by then, which is designed to output 100 tonnes of hydrated lime per year to support partners like Aecon and Spanish infrastructure company Acciona on the tests.

The goal of the industry partnerships, De Luna said, is to accelerate the business case for CURA’s technology so it can be deployed in cement-production facilities.

Aecon has track record of innovation in sustainability, De Luna said. For example, it has worked with Canadian companies like Carbon Upcycling and CarbiCrete which aim to shrink the carbon footprint of the concrete and cement sector.

The Canadian construction company has set a target to be net-zero by 2050. To address the carbon emissions from the materials it uses, it embarked on projects such as a partnership with Concordia University in 2024.

Seed funding round scheduled later this year

De Luna’s dream is to see CURA “become the default standard for how cement will be produced in the future,” one that is “electrically driven, cleaner, low-carbon intensity, lower cost than what is done today.”

With carbon pricing policies being introduced globally, such as the European Union’s Emissions Trading System, CURA’s technology helps businesses address the cost of doing nothing, De Luna said. CURA’s technology could slash cement producers' carbon emissions, reducing exposure to pollution fees.

“In many ways, we are a better way to do carbon capture,” he said.

After the pilot-scale facility, CURA’s goal is to develop a demonstration facility that can produce up to 30,000 tonnes of hydrated lime per year. The purpose of the demonstration facility is to prove CURA’s technology can work at scale and strengthen the industry’s confidence in its process, De Luna said.

CURA will have more news to announce regarding partnerships and projects later this year, he added.

The company plans to launch its seed round in Q2.