A Concrete Innovation for Addressing Climate Change - An Interview with Mehrdad Mahoutian
Mehrdad Mahoutian
The earth is warming at an alarming rate. We want a solution that will save the planet. Maybe that thinking is wrong. Maybe the answer is 1,000 solutions…1,000 innovations. A collection of innovations that reduce carbon output, capture the gasses in our atmosphere, and create a less wasteful lifestyle will help us slow, if not stop, global warming. One of these innovations has been created by Mehrdad Mahoutian, CTO and Co-founder of Carbicrete. In a carbon-negative process, Carbicrete injects carbon from the atmosphere into concrete blocks to create a stronger, lighter, and greener alternative to our traditional concrete. This is an incredible innovation since the production of concrete accounts for more than 5% of all global carbon dioxide emissions.
In this interview with Mehrdad, we discuss his process of discovering and further developing his new technology, the key aspects of making Carbicrete, and his plans for distributing the new technology in the future. We also talk about Mehrdad’s education experience in Iran and Canada, and the failures and success along his academic journey. Finally, we discuss how carbon-negative technologies can aid in our fight against global warming.
Mehrdad Mahoutian has a Master of Science degree in structural engineering and earned a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering. While in his Ph.D. program, he developed the technology that has led to the founding of Carbicrete.
Topics Discussed in Part One: Developing revolutionary building materials, cement versus concrete, carbon negative processes, the impact of concrete on the environment, using waste materials to create stronger concrete, making carbon dioxide and steel slag valuable materials, global adaptability of Carbicrete, the journey to creating a viable product, failure, advice for creators
Topics Discussed in Part Two: Future applications of the Carbicrete technology, barriers in adopting the new technology across the construction industry, government support of the new technology, the CO2-based market, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), humanity’s ability to address global warming
People, Organizations, and Resources Mentioned: Chris Stern (CEO of Carbicrete) & McGill University, Yixin Shao.
To learn more about Mehrdad Mahoutian and Carbicrete, you can visit http://carbicrete.com/
“I believe that the future is bright. And I see that with the help of the government, with the help of the policymakers, with the help of researchers, innovators, and universities, technologies are going to be developed and with the push from governments at the end, climate change is solvable.”
-Mehrdad Mahoutian on the potential for humanity to solve climate change.