Queens Carbon Secures $10M Seed Round to Propel U.S. Leadership in Low-Carbon Cement Manufacturing

Queens Carbon, a developer of next-generation cement technology, announced it has secured $10 million in seed funding to scale its platform for energy-efficient cement and supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). The round was led by Clean Energy Ventures with participation from Plug and Play and Clean Energy Venture Group. Buzzi Unicem USA, a subsidiary of Buzzi S.p.A., one of the world’s leading cement producers, also joined as a strategic investor and development partner. Queens Carbon plans to leverage the funding and partnership to expand its team and operations, construct a 2,000-ton-per-year demonstration pilot facility, and prepare for a full-scale, first-of-a-kind commercial plant.

While the expansive growth in housing and infrastructure has led to a surge in demand for cement and SCMs, increasingly complex global supply chains are jeopardizing the rapid expansion of American manufacturing. To help cement producers meet the growing demand, Queens Carbon has developed an energy-efficient process to produce cost-competitive carbon-neutral cement supplementary products.

“An important step to securing America’s energy leadership is investing in companies that will broaden domestic manufacturing while reducing energy demand and cost in the most carbon-intensive sectors," said David Miller, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Clean Energy Ventures. “Queens Carbon’s technology will not only safeguard the critical supply of cement for infrastructure but open up a new pathway for decarbonized industrial materials.”

Leveraging industry-standard, abundantly available raw materials, Queens Carbon enables cement producers to deliver decarbonized product solutions to their customers without a green premium. The technology is rooted in novel hydrothermal chemistry, leveraging steam and pressure to drive the key chemical reactions at half the temperature required for conventional cement production. The result is a low-energy, ASTM-compliant product and a pathway for producing high-performance cementitious materials.

Queens Carbon’s flagship product is a carbon-neutral SCM that replaces up to 50% of conventional cement in concrete. With a modular manufacturing process, Queens Carbon’s SCM product can be produced on-site at the cement plant, allowing seamless parallel integration with existing cement operations. As part of its product roadmap, Queens Carbon also plans to develop next-generation hydraulic cement to enable low-cost carbon capture and 100% replacement of traditional cement.

“At Buzzi, we know that achieving our goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 demands forward-thinking solutions to enhance both our operations and our environmental performance,” said Luigi Buzzi, Chief Technology Officer of Buzzi. “This pilot with Queens Carbon reflects that commitment—merging breakthrough technology with real-world application. By adopting new approaches and reimagining conventional methods, we're making meaningful progress on our journey to net zero.”

Queens Carbon plans to leverage the funding to double its team and hire additional systems and process engineers. The company will also move into an expanded facility and support the construction of a 2,000-ton-per-year pilot facility at Buzzi Unicem USA’s Stockertown plant in Pennsylvania – a key step in demonstrating cost-effective, carbon-neutral SCM production at industrial scale.

“Decarbonizing cement at scale while remaining cost-competitive requires first principles thinking, a world-class team, and the right financial and strategic partners,” said Daniel Kopp, CEO of Queens Carbon. “With support from Clean Energy Ventures, Buzzi Unicem USA and the US Department of Energy, we’re building next-generation technology and assembling the creative talent needed to drive industry revenues to move cement innovation forward and significantly reduce CO2 emissions from cement production, all without a green premium.”

This round brings Queens Carbon’s total funding to $30 million, following a $14.5 million grant awarded by ARPA-E in Fall 2024.

About Queens Carbon

Queens Carbon is pioneering breakthrough technology to produce high-quality carbon-neutral cementitious materials without a green premium to enable the cement industry to dramatically cut industrial CO2 emissions. Its patented manufacturing process uses steam and pressure to reduce the temperature of production to create Q-SCMs and Q-Cement efficiently with less energy. To learn more about Queens Carbon, please visit queenscarbon.com.

About Clean Energy Ventures

Clean Energy Ventures (CEV) advances global climate solutions by backing exceptional leadership teams and game-changing companies as they transform into market leaders capable of mitigating multiple gigatons of CO₂e over the critical next three decades. The CEV team harnesses decades of energy and climate tech operational experience to actively accelerate the commercialization of our portfolio companies. Founded in 2017, CEV manages over $415 million in assets and has funded over 30 early-stage companies across North America, Europe, and Israel. For more information, visit cleanenergyventures.com.

About Buzzi

Buzzi S.p.A. is an international, multi-regional group based in Casale Monferrato, Alessandria - Italy, focused on the production of cement and ready-mix concrete. For more information about Buzzi S.p.A., visit buzzi.com/en/home. Buzzi Unicem USA, a subsidiary of Buzzi S.p.A., is one of the leading cement manufacturing companies in the USA. Headquartered in Bethlehem, Pa., Buzzi Unicem USA serves the Midwest, Southwest, Northeast and Southeast sections of the country. With over 2,200 valued employees, Buzzi Unicem USA operates 8 cement plants, with an annual production capacity of approximately 10 million metric tons, and 34 cement terminals across the country, which distribute its cement products to over 30 states. For more information about Buzzi Unicem USA, visit buzziunicemusa.com.

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