Operationalizing CO₂ Mineralization in Ready Mix Concrete: Webinar Highlights

Concrete producers are under increasing pressure to deliver lower carbon materials while maintaining the performance and reliability their customers expect. In our recent webinar, “Operationalizing CO₂ Mineralization in Ready Mix Concrete,” CarbonCure’s top technical experts shared the scientific details of how CO₂ mineralization can help producers achieve both goals without any compromises—permanently storing carbon dioxide in concrete while enabling cement reductions.

Hosted by Collin Bender, CarbonCure’s Global Director of Technical Services, the session featured insights from CTO Dean Forgeron, and Dr. Sean Monkman, CarbonCure’s former SVP of Research who is still serving the company as a technical consultant. Together, they explored the latest, nanoscale research at the heart of carbon mineralization, the scale of real-world deployment across hundreds of binder types, and the process CarbonCure uses to support producers implementing the technology.

CO₂ Mineralization Happens During Concrete Mixing

CarbonCure’s technologies inject captured CO₂ directly into fresh concrete during mixing. The CO₂ reacts with calcium ions released during cement hydration to form solid calcium carbonate minerals that become permanently embedded in the concrete matrix. This reaction occurs within seconds and integrates into the normal batching process without slowing production.

Because the reaction enhances the concrete microstructure, CarbonCure concrete producer partners can improve cement efficiency in their mix designs while maintaining equivalent performance, reducing cement costs and lowering the embodied carbon of the final concrete product.

Demonstrated at Global Scale

Not just a view of CarbonCure’s solution at the micro-level, the webinar also provided a look at the global, macro-scale at which CO₂ mineralization is already being implemented. CarbonCure has been deployed in more than two dozen countries, and more than 10.6 million truckloads of concrete have been produced using the technologies to date.

Across this global deployment, producers are achieving an average 4–5% cement reduction, which has resulted in hundreds of thousands of metric tons of CO₂ savings while maintaining concrete performance.

The Science Behind the Performance

When CO₂ is injected into fresh concrete, it forms nano-scale calcium carbonate particles that act as nucleation sites, accelerating cement hydration.

Advanced analytical techniques have also shown that the reaction contributes to a denser cement matrix and reduced pore volume, which protects the material’s strength and durability. Recent collaborative research with MIT has further advanced understanding of these mechanisms, providing trusted, third party validation at the nanoscale.

A Structured Process for Producers

The webinar also highlighted the technical process CarbonCure follows to ensure success and deliver maximum value for producers implementing its technologies. Each project begins with a cement screening and laboratory validation, where customer materials are tested to confirm the reaction and determine the optimal CO₂ dose.

Batching trials then compare the producer’s original mix design with cement-reduced mixes using CO₂ injection. Across hundreds of evaluated mix designs, CarbonCure has demonstrated in about 95% of cases that carbon mineralization enables approximately 4% cement reduction with equivalent performance. 

Why This Matters for the Concrete Industry

For producers seeking to improve their profitability, achieve market differentiation or meet customer demand for lower carbon concrete, solutions must balance innovation with operational reliability and performance. CO₂ mineralization offers a practical pathway to reduce embodied carbon by both permanently storing CO₂ in concrete and reducing cement demand, all within existing production workflows.

Watch the Full Webinar

This webinar explored the science, implementation approach and real-world results behind CO₂ mineralization in ready mix concrete production.

Watch the complete recording to learn how producers are operationalizing CO₂ mineralization and delivering lower carbon concrete at scale.