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The construction industry has long been a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, but a new sustainable building materials company called Plantd is working to change that. Plantd recently announced a $10 million Series A funding round, led by American Family Ventures, that solidifies the company’s position as a pioneer in carbon-negative building materials.
The key to Plantd’s innovative approach is its proprietary low carbon-emissions production technology, which transforms fast-growing perennial grass into durable, carbon-negative building materials. These materials, called Plantd Structural Panels™, retain 80% of the atmospheric carbon dioxide captured in the field, which is then locked away inside the walls and roofs of new homes. This means that not only are the materials themselves carbon-negative, but the houses built with them also contribute to removing carbon from the atmosphere.
Plantd’s production team is led by co-founders and engineers Huade Tan and Nathan Silvernail, who have a background in aerospace engineering from working at SpaceX. They worked together to design and build critical systems and components of the Dragon cargo and crew spacecraft. With co-founder and CEO Josh Dorfman, a serial entrepreneur and longtime sustainability leader, Plantd is redefining the value chain for engineered building materials.
The company’s first product is structural panel products for walls and roofs that are a direct substitute for traditional home construction products and require no alternative installation techniques. By cultivating fast-growing perennial grass instead of cutting down trees and pioneering novel production technology to minimize carbon emissions, Plantd’s products can outperform competitive products on critical attributes, including strength and moisture resistance.
This means that building with Plantd materials enables home builders to offer their customers homes that are not only affordable and durable but also sustainable. And by sequestering atmospheric carbon dioxide within structural frames, houses built with Plantd materials will play a key role in solving climate change.
Plantd will use this round of funding to establish their agriculture supply chain and build the first-of-its-kind, modular automated continuous press for engineered building materials. The company is currently working with the nation’s largest builders and architects to integrate these materials into their projects and quickly make them a standard in the industry.
Plantd’s ultimate vision is to build the factory of the future, ensuring that new homes and buildings contribute to reversing the effects of climate change. Construction companies and homebuilders have a unique opportunity to lead the way in building homes that are not only functional but also contribute to reversing climate change by using Plantd materials.
Author: Christian Kromme
First Appeared On: Disruptive Inspiration Daily
Christian is a futurist and trendwatcher who speaks about the impact of exponential technologies like AI on organizations, people, and talents. Christian tailors his presentations to your audience’s specific industries and needs.
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