A Canadian clean technology firm is innovating cement production to contribute toward a more environmentally friendly future of building things.
Cement “is one of the hardest climate challenges left to solve,” according to CURA cofounder Erin Bobicki, who believes “the world cannot reach Net zero without rethinking how it’s made.”
CURA’s patent-pending electrochemical process upgrades spent lime waste into low-carbon cement and agricultural products by selectively extracting high-value components and removing impurities. The technology uses electricity and water, rather than heat and fuel, to process materials.
“We’re offering a retrofit-friendly, scalable solution that eliminates process emissions without forcing producers to change their feedstocks or infrastructure,” she commented when CURA emerged from stealth in 2025 to cut cement emissions by up to 85% while lowering energy use and production costs.
CURA, originally developed at the University of British Columbia, this month confirmed that it has officially settled in Alberta.
Calgary was ultimately selected “for a variety of reasons,” according to fellow cofounder and COO Sabrina Scott, including the region’s funding ecosystem, startup support programs, and physical proximity to major players in target industries.
“We decided to take a hard look at all the major Canadian cities to see what would make the most sense for our company,” Scott recently informed Calgary Economic Development.
CURA, a 2026 cleantech startup-to-watch, “is exactly the kind of company helping shape Calgary’s future economy,” according to Brad Parry, who serves as chief executive officer of Calgary Economic Development.
“Their decision to scale in Calgary speaks to the strength of our cleantech ecosystem, our technical talent, and the growing momentum around industrial innovation in the Blue Sky City,” he stated.
CURA recently secured a partnership with Grand Forks Concrete to deploy a pilot-scale demonstration plant and a commercial facility.
The company also received NorthX Climate Tech funding.