Partanna Carbon-Negative Binder and Concrete Products

Partanna is a climate technology company founded by architect Sam Marshall and entrepreneur Rick Fox, whose materials research began in 2015 and which was invited by the Prime Minister of The Bahamas to establish its headquarters in the Caribbean. It makes carbon-negative building materials as a cost-competitive alternative to Portland cement, with the goal of delinking development from pollution.

Its binder uses brine and slag, byproducts of desalination and steel production, plus natural and recycled materials and aggregates. The mix is hydrated with brine instead of filtered water, cures at ambient temperature without clinker and absorbs CO2 from the air during curing, chemically binding it. Products include tiles, pavers, blocks, bricks, pour-in-place and ready-mix concrete and complete homes, conforming to ASTM C1157 Type GU and ACI 318. Customers are developers, governments, ready-mix producers and coastal and reef restoration projects.

• Byproduct binder: brine from desalination and slag from steelmaking replace clinker.
• Ambient curing: no kiln firing, with CO2 absorbed from air and chemically bound during curing.
• Brine hydration: mixes are hydrated with brine, so filtered water is not required.
• Product formats: tiles, pavers, CMU blocks, bricks, pour-in-place, ready-mix and complete homes.
• Code conformance: ASTM C1157 Type GU and ACI 318, tested by Intertek, AET and Beton Consulting Engineers.
• Carbon credits: Verra VM0043 project generating removal and avoidance credits.

Coastal developers in the Mekong Delta could use brine-hydrated pavers and blocks where freshwater is scarce. Steel producers with slag stockpiles could partner to set up local binder production. Marine conservation programmes could deploy carbon-absorbing concrete modules for coral reef restoration in Khanh Hoa or Phu Quoc.

A 1,250 square foot Partanna home removes or abates 182.6 tonnes of CO2, against 70.2 tonnes emitted by a standard cement home. Using brine instead of filtered water saves freshwater in arid regions. Crushed products can be reused as aggregate at end of life. A Verra-registered project allows the generation of removal and avoidance carbon credits.

Coastal regions face both freshwater scarcity and growing brine discharge from desalination, while steel slag volumes rise with industrial growth. Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam with its large steel industry and saline-intruded Mekong Delta, are looking for low-carbon materials and carbon credit projects under new domestic carbon markets.

Founded by Sam Marshall and Rick Fox; described as a Bahamian climate tech company. Partners include Red Sea Global, Saudi Readymix, ROSHN, KAUST, the Abu Dhabi Investment Office and Exeed Industries; Partanna Oasis joined Hub71 in 2024. Its direct air capture concrete project was registered by Verra in November 2024.