Prometheus aims to spark fire in building-materials space

LONGMONT — Born from research conducted at the University of Colorado Boulder, Prometheus Materials Inc. hopes to revolutionize construction.
“We are on a mission to change the world,” Prometheus CEO Loren Burnett told BizWest. “I mean that very sincerely. We’re in the wonderful position of actually having technology that can make a meaningful change to [carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions] worldwide.”

The Longmont company, with a boost from the U.S. Department of Defense, has developed a zero-carbon alternative to Portland cement, one of the most common building materials on Earth. 

Prometheus’ construction materials are built from microalgae combined with ingredients such as sunlight and seawater in a process called biomineralization to form bioconcrete that shares attributes with seashells and coral reefs. 

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The federal government contracted with four CU professors “to find a way to build protective structures to protect troops and aircraft in resource deprived environments” such as deserts, Burnett said.

After several years of proof of concept, it was clear that “the project was successful, and DOD actually moved [the company] out of the research stage and into the commercialization stage,” he said.  

Recent studies show that the production of cement accounts for roughly 8% of carbon emissions worldwide.

“Virtually every step along the way of the production of cement — and therefore, concrete — releases CO2 into the atmosphere,” Burnett said. 

Cement producers must mine limestone; transport it to a plant; put the material in a kiln, which itself is often powered by fossil fuels; heat the limestone until a CO2-releasing chemical reaction occurs; and transport the remaining material, known as clinker.

Prometheus, co-founded by Mija Hubler, Wil Srubar, Sherri Cook and Jeffery Cameron, uses a process that burns virtually no carbon and produces building materials that are 15% lighter, more insulative and quicker and less water-intensive to cure, according to Burnett. 

Now changing the construction world it’s simply a matter of adoption and market saturation, goals that Prometheus hopes to achieve through technology licensing. 

“We have some major players in the architectural and construction industry that are already part of the company from a strategic partner perspective,” Burnett said. Partners include Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) and architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. 

Prometheus’ leaders are quick to credit their CU connections with at least a portion of their success. 

Burnett said the company is the sixth he’s helped found or run and fourth that grew out of CU’s technology transfer program or similar institutions.

“Tech transfer represents a hugely underutilized asset in the United States,” he said of the CU office that introduced him to the professors who developed the technology on which Prometheus is built.

Prometheus closed on a $8-million Series A financing round led by Sofinnova Partners in June. Funding will be used to kickstart commercial production.

Burnett said the funding will provide a runway for the next couple of years, “and then we will inevitably be ready to raise a Series B that will be at a more substantial level than the Series A was.”