CarbiCrete Cement-Free Concrete Technology

CarbiCrete is a Montreal-based concrete technology company with headquarters and R&D facility in Lachine, Quebec. Its patented process, first developed at McGill University and co-founded by Chris Stern and Mehrdad Mahoutian, produces cement-free concrete to remove the emissions of portland cement from precast products.

The technology replaces cement with steel slag, an industrial by-product, and cures the products with captured CO2 that is permanently mineralised into the concrete. CarbiCrete licenses the process to concrete masonry and hardscape plants and oversees the retrofit of their production lines. Licensed producers make concrete masonry units, interlocking pavers, permeable grid pavers, paving slabs, deck blocks and solar ballast blocks, while CarbiCrete also sells the resulting carbon removal credits.

• Cement-free binder: steel slag from steelmaking replaces portland cement in precast concrete.
• CO2 curing: captured CO2 is mineralised into products and stored permanently.
• Licensing model: technology licensed to masonry and hardscape plants with retrofit oversight.
• Product range: CMUs, interlocking pavers, CarbiFlo permeable grid pavers, slabs, deck and ballast blocks.
• Carbon credits: carbon removal credits generated by production are offered for purchase.
• Verified footprint: product EPDs are published, including one valid from 2024 to 2029.

Vietnamese unfired brick and paver plants can license the process to produce cement-free blocks for public works and green buildings. Steel mills can partner with block producers to turn slag into a binder and capture CO2 from their own operations. Solar developers can source low-carbon ballast blocks for rooftop arrays.

Each typical licensed plant is estimated to abate and remove about 20,000 tonnes of CO2, save 4,400 cubic metres of water and avoid 33,000 tons of landfill per year. Steel slag replaces cement entirely, turning a waste stream into a binder. Plants retrofit existing block lines with full support rather than building new facilities, and gain an extra revenue stream from carbon credits.

Precast and masonry producers are under pressure to supply lower-carbon products for public and green-certified projects, while steelmakers seek outlets for slag. In Vietnam, rapid growth of steel production and a national push to replace fired clay bricks with unfired building materials create a fit for slag-based, CO2-cured blocks and pavers.

Headquarters at 1730 55th Avenue, Lachine, Quebec; CEO Gary Belisle. Licensed production at Patio Drummond (Quebec), Canal Block (Ontario) and a POINT.P plant of Saint-Gobain in France. Investors and partners shown include BDC, Fondaction, Fonds FTQ, Harsco Environmental, Lafarge, Nova Saint-Gobain, SDTC and McGill University. Awarded CAD 1 million by ISED and NRC in June 2026.