Canadian Firm Unveils Cement That Halves Portland, Boosts Green Building

KAMLOOPS, BC – March 10, 2026 – In a significant move to decarbonize the construction industry, British Columbia-based Progressive Planet has announced the development of a new, low-carbon cement that can replace up to 50% of traditional Portland cement in concrete. The company has filed a US provisional patent for the material, dubbed Planet LCD Cement™, a innovation that promises to make concrete not only greener but also stronger and potentially more cost-effective.

The announcement positions the company as a key innovator in a sector under immense pressure to reduce its environmental impact. Globally, cement production is responsible for an estimated 7-8% of all carbon dioxide emissions, making any reduction in its use a critical step toward climate goals.

A New Foundation for Green Construction

Progressive Planet's breakthrough is a new type of supplementary cementing material (SCM) that leverages a novel formula. While the industry has been exploring Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) to reduce its carbon footprint, Progressive Planet has pioneered what it calls Limestone Calcined Diatomite (LCD). This new composition utilizes diatomaceous earth, limestone, and gypsum—materials the company describes as plentiful.

Critically, Planet LCD Cement is formulated without metakaolin, a high-purity, and often costly, alumina-rich clay used in LC3 cements. According to the company, its LCD formulation has much lower levels of alumina and instead relies on the exceptional reactivity of silica found in diatomaceous earth.

"Planet LCD Cement uses diatomaceous earth, limestone, and gypsum, all which are plentiful materials," stated Steve Harpur, CEO of Progressive Planet. "We have created a highly reactive cement without metakaolin. Waste diatomaceous earth powders sell for a fraction of the cost of metakaolin. This opens up opportunities to utilize waste diatomaceous earth powders globally to replace 50% of Portland with Planet LCD Cement."

Testing has reportedly confirmed the material's performance. The company announced that mortar cubes made with Planet LCD Cement have demonstrated strong compressive strength at 20%, 35%, and 50% replacement levels for Portland cement, passing the industry benchmark ASTM C618 standard in all tests.

"Planet LCD Cement is a scalable solution that creates stronger cement than the status quo," added Dr. Doug Brown, the company's CTO. "The reactivity of silica in these naturally occurring rocks is exceptional for the production of natural pozzolans."

Navigating a Greening Cement Market

Progressive Planet is entering a rapidly expanding and competitive market. The global low-carbon cement sector was valued at nearly $2 billion in 2023 and is projected to surge past $5 billion by 2032, driven by stringent environmental regulations and a growing demand for sustainable infrastructure. Major industry players like Holcim and Cemex are already heavily invested in their own green cement lines, such as Cemex’s Vertua® products, which are designed to lower CO2 emissions.

However, Progressive Planet’s focus on using waste materials could provide a significant competitive edge. By valorizing industrial byproducts like waste diatomaceous earth, the company aims to tackle both emissions and cost, two of the most significant barriers to the widespread adoption of green construction materials.

The Strategic Blueprint for Commercialization

To accelerate its innovations, Progressive Planet is strategically expanding its research and development capabilities. The company announced the grand opening of its new Calgary-based C-Quester™ Centre of Sustainable Solutions on March 26, 2026. This facility will be the hub for refining Planet LCD Cement, developing custom plasticizers to enhance its performance, and creating versions of its Gladiator SCM product.

Significantly, the Calgary lab will also offer contractual testing services to third parties, signaling a long-term strategy to establish the center as a self-sustaining profit center within the company. Meanwhile, the original lab in Kamloops will continue to focus on quality control for another one of the company's key products, PozGlass SCM, which is made from recycled post-consumer glass.

Progress on the PozGlass SCM pilot plant appears to be on schedule. All major components are now installed, and the company is focused on completing the building and energizing the equipment. "Unless there are delays from the local electrical utility... Progressive Planet expects the PozGlass SCM Pilot Plant to be producing dry glass powder before the end of our fourth quarter which ends on April 30, 2026," noted Sam MacDonald, Process Engineer for the project.

From Waste Streams to Value Chains

The company’s strategy hinges on a core principle of the circular economy: turning waste into value. This is evident not only in the use of waste diatomaceous earth for Planet LCD Cement but also in its ongoing work with PozGlass SCM. The Kamloops lab is developing specialty cement additives using nanoparticles of glass that are generated as a byproduct of the PozGlass production process.

"As a mechanical engineer, I have been working on wet grinding circuits for over fifteen years. As with most materials, the reactivity of PozGlass increases with the reduction in the average particle size," explained Michael Carrell, Manager of the PozGlass SCM lab. "The ability to create incremental value from particles that are so small that they pass through the filter press that recovers PozGlass is exciting to me."

This meticulous approach to capturing value from every part of the production stream underscores a deep commitment to resource efficiency and sustainability that permeates the company's product development pipeline.

Overcoming Hurdles on the Path to Adoption

Bringing a new construction material to market is a complex process, but the regulatory landscape is becoming more favorable for innovators. Standards bodies like ASTM International are developing new performance-based specifications that focus on what a material does rather than what it is made of. This shift is crucial for paving the way for novel SCMs like Planet LCD Cement, which may not fit into older, prescriptive categories.

Furthermore, government initiatives, such as the US Inflation Reduction Act's funding for low-embodied-carbon construction materials, are creating powerful market incentives for adoption. As builders and governments seek to meet ambitious emissions targets, the demand for verified, high-performance, and cost-effective green materials is set to grow, creating a promising runway for companies that can deliver on all three fronts. Progressive Planet's multi-faceted approach, combining novel chemistry with a strategic use of waste streams and a clear path to commercialization, signals that it is ready to help build that future.