CarbiCrete has issued its first carbon removal tons from CO2-negative concrete — one of the earliest issuances under Verra's VM0043 methodology for CO2 Utilization in Concrete Production, version 1.1. The Montreal-based company's exclusive carbon markets partner, 3Degrees Group, announced the milestone.

For practitioners watching the voluntary carbon market, that's the headline: a carbon-removal credit class built on mineralized CO2 in concrete has now moved from pipeline to ledger. VM0043 is young, and early issuances are what turn a methodology from paperwork into a tradable product.

What does the technology actually replace?

CarbiCrete's patented process eliminates cement from the concrete mix entirely. Instead, it uses steel slag — an industrial waste stream available at much lower cost — combined with captured CO2.

The scale of the problem it targets is hard to overstate. Conventional concrete depends on cement, and cement production accounts for nearly 10% of global CO2 emissions. That's roughly one in every ten tonnes of CO2 humanity emits, tied to a single input material.

The system is designed to drop into any concrete products plant. Once installed, it uses carbonation activation: CO2 is injected into the wet concrete, which fortifies the mix and permanently sequesters the gas in the finished product. The result is concrete rated CO2-negative — the material locks away more carbon than its production emits.

What does the issuance change for the market?

Two things. First, revenue. Verified removal tons give CarbiCrete a second product line alongside the concrete itself, monetized through 3Degrees on the voluntary carbon market. For a company still scaling, that's cash flow that doesn't depend on winning paving contracts alone.

Second, proof of integrity. The voluntary carbon market has spent years fighting credibility problems. A removal ton issued under a Verra methodology, with the CO2 physically mineralized in a building product, is among the harder forms of carbon removal to dispute. No storage leakage risk, no land-use accounting fights — the carbon is in the block.

3Degrees Group didn't underplay the moment. In a recent publication, the company called the issuance a groundbreaking milestone, stating: "Moving from concept to verified, high-integrity carbon removal is a massive step forward for decarbonizing the built environment—one of the toughest emissions challenges we face today."

Where does the money come from?

The issuance caps a stretch of public backing for CarbiCrete. A few months ago, the company secured CA$1 million (~US$7 million as stated in the funding announcement) in support from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC).

Announced in June 2026, the grant came through the second phase of the Low-Carbon Construction Materials Challenge program run by Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC).

CarbiCrete has pointed that funding at two targets:

• Developing decarbonized paving products
• Working toward a dedicated CarbiCrete plant in Canada

That second item matters most for anyone tracking built capacity versus announcements. To date, CarbiCrete's model has been retrofit — its technology installs into existing concrete products plants. A dedicated facility would be the company's first wholly owned production asset and a step change in how much CO2-negative material, and how many removal tons, it can put out per year.

Why 2026 is the year to watch

CarbiCrete has framed 2026 as a momentous year, and the pieces line up: federal funding in June, first issuance now, and a dedicated plant on the roadmap. Each milestone feeds the next — the ISC money supports the paving products and the plant, the plant expands output, and expanded output means more issuable removal tons.

For concrete producers, slag suppliers, and carbon-market buyers, the open questions are now concrete ones: how fast can the dedicated Canadian plant move from planning to permits to pour, and what price per ton do CarbiCrete's VM0043 credits command once 3Degrees starts placing them at volume.

The next regulatory and market milestone — the dedicated plant's build-out and the first sizeable credit tranche — decides whether this stays a promising niche or becomes a repeatable channel for cement-free concrete.

By Elena Vasquez