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Green cement startup Fortera has opened its first low carbon cement plant in Redding, California.

Why it matters: The facility is a huge step for the startup as it seeks to derisk its tech in a sector that is difficult to decarbonize.

Driving the news: On Friday, Fortera held a grand opening event for the Redding plant, which CEO Ryan Gilliam called "an important milestone."

The facility is supposed to start producing green cement the first week in May, and it will grow to make 15,000 tons of cement per year that has a 70% lower carbon footprint while capturing 6,600 tons of CO2.

The Redding plant is built next to a cement plant operated by CalPortland, a 132-year-old cement giant. Fortera's tech takes the gas from CalPortland's flue and uses it as a feedstock for its cement.

Catch up quick: San Jose, California-based Fortera told Axios last year that it is pursuing $1 billion in financing to fund an aggressive expansion of building as many as seven commercial plants in the next five years.

Each production plant would cost about $150 million and take about three years to build.

Temasek and Khosla Ventures led the company's $30 million Series B in 2021.

Fortera evolved from an earlier company called Calera, which shuttered in 2014. Gilliam founded Fortera in 2019 with several former Calera employees.

Zoom in: Gilliam said during the opening event that Fortera has "considerably more than seven plants now under MOU [memorandum of understanding] for doing commercial plants."

Gilliam said Fortera is planning to build its first full commercial plant that would be 25 times the size of its facility in Redding.

The big picture: The cement industry is a tricky sector to decarbonize, as building and construction companies are naturally risk-averse and slow-moving.

Fortera's efforts to work with cement producers, instead of trying to disrupt them, could be a less risky way to navigate the cement sector.

Regardless, Fortera's plans are capital-intensive and will require extensive fundraising to implement.

Bottom line: The Redding plant is a major step in an industry that's difficult to clean up.

Fortera opens first low carbon cement plant

The facility is built next to CalPortland's cement plant

A low carbon cement plant in Redding, Calif. built by startup Fortera

Fortera's first low carbon cement plant in Redding, Calif., next to CalPortland's cement plant. Photo: Courtesy of Fortera

Construction

Green cement startup Fortera has opened its first low carbon cement plant in Redding, California.Why it matters: The facility is a huge step for the startup as it seeks to derisk its tech in a sector that is difficult to decarbonize.

Fortera opens first low carbon cement plant

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