Two Finnish companies, Soletair Power and Carbonaide, have teamed up to decarbonize the construction sector, one of the most emissions-heavy industries globally.
The two companies formed a tech symbiosis, combining innovations to tackle excess CO2 emissions and put them to good use.
Soletair Power has developed a technology that captures carbon dioxide from the ventilation systems of buildings.
This process is made possible by the company’s HVAC Integrated CO2 Capturing Unit, a modular system that can be installed in buildings where each installed unit can capture up to 20 tons of carbon dioxide per year.
On the other hand, Carbonaide is focused on transforming concrete from a carbon source into a carbon sink.
Employing a technology that originated at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Carbonaide has created a mechanism that mineralizes captured CO2, storing it permanently in concrete.
The company’s award-winning carbon curing technology enables the production of carbon-negative concrete by combining mineralized CO2 with low-carbon-footprint binders.
In a partnership that unites the different technologies developed by the two companies, in December 2024, Carbonaide managed to successfully produce net-negative concrete products using carbon dioxide captured by Soletair Power.
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“This partnership brings out the best in both technologies,” said Petri Laakso, CEO of Soletair Power.
He added, “It’s like turning harmful emissions into valuable solid minerals—creating value through cost reduction while closing the loop for our air-captured CO2.”
By repurposing captured carbon, this partnership helps lower production costs, offering construction companies a chance to reduce their reliance on high-carbon cement.
As Carbonaide CEO Tapio Vehmas explained, “We are solving two problems at once. By reducing cement use, our customers will benefit from significant cost savings but also gain competitiveness in their business while EU ETS regulations are tightening. At the same time, we ensure that captured CO₂ stays out of the atmosphere for good.”
In a broader perspective, the fruitful collaboration between Soletair Power and Carbonaide presents a hopeful pathway for the future of the construction industry.
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