Furno, a leading-edge startup dedicated to advancing decarbonization efforts, has successfully closed a $6.5 million seed funding round. The company has unveiled the Furno Brick, a trailblazing, end-to-end cement production unit, marking an impressive stride towards sustainable manufacturing.
Cement is recognized as the second most utilized substance globally, trailing only water. Its production, however, is responsible for 8% of worldwide carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, attributed to outdated and inefficient production techniques. Amid escalating climate change impacts, the sector is in dire need of innovation. The challenge has been the absence of a cost-effective method for small-scale cement production, with the construction of new plants necessitating investments nearing $1 billion each. This financial barrier is further compounded by tightening emissions regulations and the limited economic flexibility of existing cement production technologies to adapt to these evolving environmental standards.
Furno emerges a pacesetter in this context, introducing the world's first modular and carbon-neutral cement plant capable of scaling according to demand. Their novel approach significantly lowers the entry barrier, enabling local and small-scale operations to thrive. Gurinder Nagra, the founder and CEO of Furno, emphasizes the company's capacity to produce Ordinary Portland cement while remaining adaptable to various gas-based fuels and material innovations. “Our cement far exceeds ASTM standards, a bare-minimum quality threshold. While most companies tout meeting these standards and stop there, we have continued to refine our process and are on target to surpass the even higher commercial requirements set by significantly-sized customers eager for our solution.”
Marty Ozinga, CEO of Ozinga Bros Inc., a top concrete company in Chicago, enthuses, “After researching most of them, we believe Furno stands out as one that has the potential to scale most quickly and be most disruptive to traditional cement plants. We are excited to closely monitor their progress and be one of their early adopters.”
Furno’s innovation lies in its unique kiln and combustion technology, which allows for gas-based cement production, substantially reducing CO2 emissions and eliminating nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur oxides (SOx). The design facilitates the creation of compact, cost-effective cement plants, offering the flexibility to expand capacity incrementally. By enabling pre-fabrication and standardization, the Furno Brick aims to reduce labor and installation costs, which constitute most of plant construction expenses, and decrease the costs associated with custom equipment procurement, production, and permitting.
Operating with over 80% thermal efficiency, the Furno Brick optimizes cement production by integrating the traditional four stages—preheating, calcining, sintering, and cooling—into a single compact reactor. This innovation not only reduces costs but also minimizes both the carbon and physical footprint of cement production.
The successful (and oversubscribed) funding round was led by Energy Capital Ventures (ECV) and saw participation from O’Shaughnessy Ventures, Cantos, and Neotribe, with Breakthrough Energy participating in an earlier round of non-dilutive funding.
Managing general partner and co-founder of ECV, Vic Pascucci, highlighted Furno’s unparalleled team, technology, business model, and competitive advantages as critical factors driving their investment decision. “It was immediately clear to us that Furno had the best team, technology, business model and competitive advantages. Furno’s game changing ‘mini-kiln’ innovation enables a level of decarbonization and market adoption that is in a class all of its own.”
Founded on the necessity for innovation and accessible entry into the cement industry, Furno prioritizes direct customer engagement to tailor solutions to their needs. The company’s modular, compact, and capital-efficient technology democratizes sustainable cement production, making it attainable for manufacturers of all sizes.
Furno, headquartered in Mountain View, California, is an earth-first, science-driven startup committed to reducing the environmental impact of traditional cement production through scalable and cost-efficient technology. By offering the industry a modular, flexible, and affordable means to create cement plants, Furno is set to redefine the landscape of cement production.
