Calgary-based cleantech company Carbon Upcycling and Ash Grove, a CRH Company, officially broke ground today on Carbon 1 Mississauga—the country’s first commercial-scale carbon capture and utilization (CCU) facility at a cement plant.
Located at Ash Grove’s Mississauga site, the groundbreaking project will use Carbon Upcycling’s patented technology to permanently sequester carbon dioxide emissions from the cement kiln and transform local industrial byproducts into high-quality, low-carbon supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs).
Once operational in 2026, Carbon 1 Mississauga will produce up to 30,000 tonnes of SCMs annually, offering a scalable, market-ready pathway to reduce emissions in one of Canada’s most carbon-intensive sectors.
“Clean technology, including carbon capture, will play an integral role in our efforts to decarbonize,” said Julie Dabrusin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. “Projects such as this one present significant economic opportunity for Canadian industry in clean technology, clean energy and decarbonization.”
The facility has been awarded up to $10 million in federal funding through a trio of climate-focused programs, including Next Generation Manufacturing’s Sustainable Manufacturing Program, Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Low Carbon Economy Fund, and the NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP).
Delivered through a multi-stakeholder collaboration, the project is also supported by CRH Ventures, the venture capital arm of CRH, which has invested in Carbon Upcycling and is helping scale the technology globally.
In addition to its environmental impact, the initiative will create skilled jobs in Ontario and support construction-related employment over the coming year.
Carbon 1 Mississauga builds on Carbon Upcycling’s growing reputation as a global leader in carbon and resource utilization—and signals a turning point for how heavy industry in Canada can contribute to a low-carbon future.