New Zealand’s Neocrete raises $3.5 M to advance low-carbon concrete technology

With participation from Icehouse Ventures and new investor Catalytic Capital for Climate and Health, a vehicle supported by Temasek Trust, Neocrete, a New Zealand company that develops technology to reduce the carbon and cost of concrete, has raised $3.5 million in a funding round headed by returning investor Wavemaker Ventures.

Temasek said in a statement on Wednesday that the funding comes after a $4 million seed round led by Wavemaker in 2024. Neocrete plans to use the funds to continue its commercial deployment in Southeast Asia and to grow into the European and American markets.

Neocrete produces additives that enable 30 to 50 percent of the cement in concrete to be replaced by low-quality, low-carbon resources like volcanic ash and fly ash. The invention can lower the cost and embodied carbon of concrete while preserving its durability and strength.

The largest ready-mix concrete producer in Brunei, Readymix Brunei, started testing Neocrete’s additives commercially in 2025. Readymix Brunei reduced embodied carbon by 25% and saved about $20,000 by using the addition to replace 30% of the cement in commercial projects, pouring 3,700 cubic meters to date.

According to Neocrete, the building and construction industry is responsible for roughly 37% of the world’s carbon emissions, while the cement industry is responsible for about 8%.

The CEO and co-founder of Neocrete, Zarina Alexander, claimed that green premiums were ineffective in the concrete sector. The Brunei initiatives demonstrated that producers may reduce costs and carbon emissions without making trade-offs.

Neocrete’s reduced cost and improved performance, according to Ryan Tan, head of Catalytic Capital for Climate and Health, eliminated a major obstacle to the adoption of lower-carbon cement.

The method has been demonstrated to reduce cement use by up to 30% without sacrificing strength, according to Paul Santos, co-founder and managing partner of Wavemaker.