DTE Materials is at the forefront of decarbonizing concrete now, not in some far off future. Reach out to us or the DTE team if you want to learn more!
WHY WE INVESTED in DTE MATERIALS https://dtematerials.com Concrete is the skeleton of civilization. Cities rise, highways stretch, & homes take form--all built on a foundation of cement and sand. It is also, unfortunately, one of the most carbon-intensive materials on the planet. Concrete production alone accounts for about 8% of global CO? emissions. Most solutions have collapsed under the weight of supply chain constraints, regulatory inertia, or physics. DTE Materials has built something different: Clearwash, a process for producing bioaggregates that replaces up to 40% of sand aggregate in concrete mixing. While cement is the key binder & emitter in concrete, it only makes up ~10% of the substance. Aggregates on the other hand represent up to 75% of the concrete mix and up to 5% of concrete’s total emissions.? When DTE's biomass is stored in concrete the physical carbon is permanently entombed preventing the rerelease of atmospheric carbon through decay or burning, allowing concrete to function as a carbon sink. Sand, the primary aggregate input, has almost doubled over the last decade, so the industry is looking for lower-cost alternatives, and DTE is ready with an aggregate for CMU blocks that uses 40% less carbon and is 30% lighter - with no green premium. Thirty years ago, sand costs per ton were just under $4, now they’re approaching $10 per ton. This means that the industry is ready to buy DTE now, and that the company will scale up rapidly, helping to decarbonize cement in this decade. Scaling in the construction industry isn’t just about technical performance; it’s about navigating a maze of regulations and entrenched supply chains. DTE is already clearing these hurdles. Their product is in the ASTM certification process, a crucial regulatory milestone that historically blocked cement decarbonization efforts. And unlike most pre-seed startups, they’ve already worked with the biggest players in the industry to create over 20,000 Clearwash blocks to date - providing a line of sight to mass production. They also have go-to-market outlets with both manufacturers and home builders. This is a startup that doesn’t just have a breakthrough material; it has an immediate path to industrial-scale adoption.?