Better concrete that doesn't cost the earth.
Photo credit: Neocrete / neocrete.com
Neocrete is a New Zealand climate tech company developing technology to reduce the amount of Portland cement needed in concrete without requiring new plants, alternative binders, or higher material costs.
Its core product is a performance enhancing additive for supplementary cementitious materials, or SCMs. The technology activates underperforming pozzolanic materials such as pond ash, natural pozzolans, and calcined clays, allowing concrete producers to use more locally available SCMs while maintaining the strength, setting time, and durability required for commercial concrete.
The opportunity is significant. Cement production accounts for roughly 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions, while many of the higher quality materials traditionally used to replace cement, including slag and consistent fly ash, are increasingly scarce or expensive. Lower cost local alternatives are more widely available, but their performance often limits how much cement producers can replace.
Neocrete uses high surface charge particles to increase the reactivity of these materials. According to the company, its technology can improve SCM performance by 15% to 40% and, depending on the material and concrete formulation, enable cement reductions of up to 80%. The process works through a combination of molecular activation, improved water efficiency, accelerated reactions, and a denser concrete microstructure, without requiring additional SCM processing.
The commercial proposition is designed around economics as much as emissions reduction. Rather than asking customers to pay a premium for lower carbon concrete, Neocrete aims to reduce both carbon emissions and the cost of achieving a given level of concrete performance. As CEO and co founder Zarina Alexander puts it, customers “are willing to pay exactly net zero to achieve net zero.”
Founded in 2018 by Alexander and Matt Kennedy Good, Neocrete began in a shipping container laboratory in New Zealand. The company now operates offices and laboratories in Parnell, Auckland, a production facility in South Auckland, and has achieved commercial deployment in Brunei. It is also expanding testing and commercial activity across Europe, the Middle East, and the United States.
In 2026, Neocrete joined Amazon’s Greentown Labs Go Build program in collaboration with the Global CO2 Initiative and won the Reset Connect pitch competition during London Climate Action Week. In August 2026, the company announced a US$3.5 million funding round led by returning investor Wavemaker Ventures, with participation from Icehouse Ventures, Temasek Trust’s C3H, and angel investors Doug Parker and Steve Melhuish.
Neocrete’s impact model is built around reducing the amount of Portland cement needed in conventional concrete mixes. Instead of introducing a new cement chemistry or requiring producers to invest in new manufacturing infrastructure, its additive is designed to help ready mix plants use larger quantities of locally available fly ash, pozzolans, and other supplementary cementitious materials.
The climate benefit comes from replacing clinker intensive cement with lower carbon materials that already exist, including industrial byproducts that may otherwise go unused or be discarded. If those materials can deliver comparable strength and durability, producers can reduce both embodied carbon and material cost per cubic metre of concrete.
Neocrete’s commercial example is Readymix Brunei, where low quality fly ash that had previously been discarded is being used in concrete after treatment with Neocrete’s additive. The company reports cement replacement rates of around 30% in commercial pours, including work connected to the Muara Port redevelopment.
According to Neocrete and its partners, approximately 3,700 cubic metres of concrete have been poured to date using the technology, resulting in a 25% reduction in embodied carbon, roughly 215 tonnes of avoided CO₂ emissions, and about US$20,000 in material savings. At the projected full port volume of approximately 65,000 cubic metres, the company estimates potential savings of around US$300,000 and 5,200 tonnes of avoided CO₂ emissions.
Pilot mixes using roughly 40% activated ash have also matched or exceeded the compressive strength of conventional CEM I concrete. Performance in Brunei has been independently tested by ABCi across concrete grades G25 through G50, while the additive is classified as an EN 934 admixture and is undergoing additional EN and ASTM testing.
The key limitation is that performance depends on the SCM, mix design, and local material conditions. Neocrete’s higher cement replacement figures should therefore be treated as application specific results rather than a universal outcome across every concrete mix.
Neocrete’s impact metrics center on cement displacement, carbon reduction, and cost savings at the concrete mix level.
According to the company and its partners, Neocrete can improve the performance of supplementary cementitious materials by approximately 15% to 40%, helping producers move beyond the typical 10% to 15% replacement range associated with lower quality local SCMs. Depending on the material and mix design, the company says total cement use can be reduced by as much as 80%.
Its strongest commercial data comes from Readymix Brunei. Neocrete reports that concrete produced with its additive has achieved approximately 30% cement replacement, a 25% reduction in embodied carbon, and cost savings of about US$6 per cubic metre, or roughly 10%.
To date, approximately 3,700 cubic metres of concrete have been poured using the technology in Brunei, representing an estimated 215 tonnes of avoided CO₂ emissions and around US$20,000 in material savings. For the planned Muara Port volume of approximately 65,000 cubic metres, the company projects roughly 5,200 tonnes of avoided CO₂ emissions and around US$300,000 in savings.
Performance has been independently verified by ABCi across concrete grades G25 through G50, and the additive is classified under EN 934.
On the capital side, Neocrete raised US$3.5 million in August 2026 in a round led by Wavemaker Ventures, with participation from Icehouse Ventures and C3H, an initiative of Temasek Trust. The company had also raised an earlier seed round approximately two years prior.
Neocrete has participated in several industry and climate innovation programs, including the CRH Accelerator, JLL Foundation, GCCA Innovandi Challenge, and Amazon’s 2026 Greentown Labs Go Build program.
More cement replacement from the SCMs you already have
The additive is designed to wake up dormant pozzolans in pond ash, low-grade fly ash, natural pozzolans, and calcined clays so replacement can go past the usual 10–15% ceiling.
Lower carbon and lower cost per MPa
If less clinker is needed for the same strength, both embodied CO₂ and mix cost fall—Neocrete’s Brunei partner cites ~25% carbon and ~10% cost cuts at 30% replacement.
No new plant, no green premium
The product is an admixture in existing operations. The company argues concrete buyers will not pay extra for “green” concrete, so the chemistry has to win on price.
Independent checks on commercial pours
Readymix Brunei’s mixes are verified by ABCi across G25–G50, with EN 934 admixture classification and broader EN/ASTM certification in progress.
Locations
