Discussions about carbon storage often focus on ambitious goals, pilot projects, and long-term potential. I feel that one critical topic remains largely unspoken: the economics. How much does carbon storage actually cost today? What is the return on investment? How can concrete manufacturers turn low-carbon concrete into a profitable business?
We at Carbonaide believe in more open conversation, which is why we’ve launched a new public page about Carbonaide solution pricing, along with a practical ROI calculator designed for concrete manufacturers. Our objective is to be transparent and promote open industry-wide discussion about the business case for carbon dioxide curing and permanent carbon storage solutions.
Why we need to talk about money
Too many carbon capture and storage projects avoid openly discussing the business case. Public statements typically focus on technological breakthroughs, future plans and potential emission reductions. Much less is said about what can be implemented today, what the systems cost, and how the investment performs in a real factory.
In the concrete industry, capital investments require credible scenarios and a path to profitability. Without reliable financial data, technologies will never go beyond the pilot stage and reach industrial scale, no matter how advanced they may be.
It is clear that many carbon reduction projects are not yet profitable. That is not a problem in itself. Early‑stage technologies require time, learning, and scale before reaching full commercial performance. What is a problem is avoiding the money topic altogether. When pricing, revenues, and investments are left out of the discussion, the lack of transparency can make even the most promising solutions appear vague or untrustworthy.
We think this must change. At Carbonaide, we believe in addressing the business realities, including the challenges of securing investments. It is crucial for transforming the construction industry and achieving real emissions reductions.
Introducing Carbonaide solution pricing and the ROI calculator
To make the business side of carbon storage more concrete (the pun never goes out of fashion in this industry), we’ve published a public pricing page for the Carbonaide solution.
The page includes:
- Transparent pricing for Carbonaide’s CO₂ curing technology
- A practical ROI calculator for concrete manufacturers
- Estimates of factory-level emission reductions.
The calculator allows concrete producers to estimate how a Carbonaide CO₂ curing system would perform in their own operations. By adjusting production volumes and price assumptions, you can get a customised view of the expected annual return on investment and the potential greenhouse gas reductions.
The Business Case: Utilise and Store
The value proposition of Carbonaide’s CO2 curing system consists of two interconnected elements:
- Utilisation Benefits: CO2 curing enables mineralisation in concrete, leading to cement savings, improved mechanical properties, and increased production capacity. This results in reduced costs and emissions.
- Permanent storage and added revenue: CO2 is permanently stored as mineral carbonates within the concrete products. The carbon removals can be monetised on the carbon markets, creating opportunities to generate additional revenue.
Carbon storage alone does not create a viable business case for concrete manufacturers, but together with the utilization benefits the Carbon dioxide curing system makes low-carbon concrete economically viable.
What is your business case for carbon storage?
The new pricing page builds on earlier work where we have discussed the economics of carbon dioxide curing and carbon storage in more detail. If you want to dive deeper into the numbers, I recommend reading my earlier blog posts:
Join the Discussion, Challenge Our Assumptions
We recognise that many early-stage low-carbon projects are not profitable. That’s a normal part of the innovation journey – ours, too. However, avoiding transparency or relying on venture capital without a scalable plan is not sustainable in the long run. The construction industry needs solutions with a clear business case that fit industry conditions.
Our aim is to support more informed decision‑making in the concrete industry about how to move low‑carbon concrete from an idea to everyday production.
By publishing our pricing and ROI calculation tool openly, we hope to start an open discussion about the business case for carbon storage and low-carbon concrete. We don’t claim our assumptions are perfect, nor will they apply to every factory, but we believe these conversations must happen in the open.
I invite you to:
- Check our prices, read our blog and use the calculator to test different scenarios
- Give us feedback and challenge our assumptions
- Call me and book a more detailed discussion based on your own experiences
About Carbonaide
Carbonaide makes carbon-negative concrete economically viable. With the Carbonaide CO₂ solution, concrete manufacturers can utilise carbon dioxide to improve their products and store carbon permanently.
