BETOLAR

Path makers: Harri Bergholm, Matias Heinänen, Lasse Joutulainen & Ville Voipio

Betolar has developed Geoprime, a concrete recipe that replaces cement with industrial side streams and activator chemicals, resulting in concrete with 80% lower emissions compared to traditional cement concrete. As cement production represents 7-8% of global CO2 emissions, the potential impact of such reductions is huge.

The company’s development approach differs from typical industry practices through the speed and scale of implementation. Rather than focusing on laboratory development, Betolar took recipe expertise directly to industry and large markets, establishing international operations early in its development. The company conducted over 200 pilots per year, collecting data to support an AI tool built for development work. This pilot-driven methodology accelerated the recipe development process and enabled the company to develop a library of low-carbon Geoprime concrete application recipes for different use cases. Commercial implementations include, for example, the Geoprime Hollow Core Slab, approved for construction use within EU standards and transferred to Asia through a local partner, as well as Geoprime paving stones and sewer pipes in infrastructure installations in Denmark and the Benelux.

To enable implementing such circular solutions, Betolar has also developed metal separation technology that purifies industrial slag and mining tailings to 99% metal-free while recovering valuable critical and strategic metals. After purification, the remaining material becomes a raw material for concrete production rather than waste. This technology creates what the company describes as a new kind of circular economy-based low-carbon binder.

Betolar’s approach prioritizes extensive real-world testing over prolonged laboratory work, leveraging pilots, industry partnerships, and AI for quick developments before market demand materializes. This has resulted in production-ready recipes supported by chemical and slag trading across multiple concrete applications, creating capacity for rapid expansion when market conditions improve.

Read more about Betolar on their website here.