What Queens Carbon does

Queens Carbon, Inc. is a private U.S. materials-science company founded in 2022 that has developed a patented hydrothermal process for producing cement and supplementary cementitious materials at substantially lower temperatures than conventional cement manufacturing. The company's core platform, the Q-System, is a modular unit designed for on-site installation at existing cement plants, enabling phased decarbonization without full facility replacement; it produces Q-SCM (a zero-CO2 engineered supplementary cementitious material that can replace up to 50% of traditional cement in concrete mixes today) and Q-Cement (a full cement replacement positioned for future market evolution). The technology was invented by co-founder Daniel Kopp during his PhD research at Rutgers University under Professor Richard Riman, who serves as co-founder and Chief Science Advisor, and the company's process uses familiar, industry-standard raw materials with water as the only added ingredient, allowing flexibility across conventional, novel industrial, or fully electrified heat sources.

Queens Carbon sells to incumbent cement manufacturers and, secondarily, concrete producers through a direct enterprise B2B model, supplemented by strategic partnerships with major cement players. Revenue is expected to be generated through a mix of Q-SCM and Q-Cement product sales and licensing/installation of the Q-System platform at customer sites, though the company is pre-revenue and currently constructing a pilot facility at its Cedar Grove, New Jersey headquarters. The company has secured relationships with 7 of the top 10 global cement companies and is a strategic partner with Buzzi Unicem USA, which also participated as an investor in the $10M seed round (April 2025) led by Clean Energy Ventures with Plug & Play Ventures. Capitalization totals approximately $24.5 million, comprising a $15M non-dilutive ARPA-E SCALEUP grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (June 2024), the $10M seed round, and a Plug & Play follow-on (November 2025), supplemented by earlier catalytic funding from Breakthrough Energy Fellows. Operations are run by CEO/CTO Daniel Kopp and CBO/co-founder David Gersholowitz alongside a ~21-person scientist and engineer team, with active hiring into R&D, operations, and a Chief of Staff role to support construction of the first commercial plant.

Name

Queens Carbon

Legal name

Queens Carbon, Inc.

Website

https://queenscarbon.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Queens Carbon is a U.S. materials-science startup that has developed a patented low-temperature hydrothermal process and a modular Q-System platform to produce carbon-neutral cement and supplementary cementitious materials on-site at existing cement plants. It sells to incumbent cement manufacturers and concrete producers via direct enterprise sales and strategic partnerships with major industry players.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Low-Carbon Cement Materials

NAICS

Cement Manufacturing (327310), Cement Manufacturing (32731)

SIC

Cement, Hydraulic (3241)

akta.pro primary industry

Cement Manufacturing (Portland, Blended & Specialty) (IMADAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Low‑Carbon Cement, Concrete & Carbon‑Cured Building Materials (concrete curing/injection, cement substitutes, blocks) (EUABAIAF), Mineralization & Carbon-Cured Materials (In-situ/Ex-situ) (EUABAFAD)

Keywords

• Low-carbon cement
• Cement decarbonization
• Supplementary cementitious materials
• Hydrothermal cement process
• Industrial carbon capture

Headquarters

HQ city

Pine Brook

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Q-SCM Product Sales: Sale of Q-SCM (zero CO₂ engineered supplementary cementitious materials) that replace up to 50% of traditional cement in concrete mixes. Pre-revenue stage as company is building pilot facility.
2. Q-System Platform Licensing: Modular Q-System technology licensed/installed at existing cement plants for on-site production of decarbonized cementitious materials.
3. Q-Cement Product Sales: Full cement replacement product to be produced as market evolves on the same Q-System platform.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Queens Carbon develops and sells a modular cement manufacturing platform (Q-System) based on a patented low-temperature hydrothermal process that uses steam and pressure to produce carbon-neutral cementitious materials. The platform produces Q-SCM (zero CO2 supplementary cementitious materials that can replace up to 50% of traditional cement in concrete) and Q-Cement (a full cement replacement), designed for on-site deployment at existing cement plants using industry-standard raw materials.

Product overview

Queens Carbon offers a unified technology platform called the Q-System, which produces two related cement products: Q-SCM (zero CO₂ engineered supplementary cementitious materials) as an immediate replacement for up to 50% of traditional cement in concrete, and Q-Cement as a full cement replacement. The platform is built on a patented hydrothermal process that uses steam and pressure at low temperatures, enabling modular, on-site deployment at existing cement plants. The company positions these products as decarbonized cementitious materials with no green premium, targeting industrial decarbonization and domestic manufacturing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Q-System Modular platform designed to be installed directly at existing cement plants, providing a low-disruption, phased path to full decarbonization. The platform produces both Q-SCM and Q-Cement products using a patented hydrothermal process.
• Q-SCM (Zero CO2 Engineered Supplementary Cementitious Materials) First produced material from the Q-System platform that can replace up to 50% of traditional cement in concrete mixes today, enabling immediate emissions reductions without requiring full cement replacement.
• Q-Cement Full cement replacement produced by the Q-System platform; designed as the next-generation product as the market evolves toward complete decarbonization.

Quantifiable outcome

• Can replace up to 50% of traditional cement in concrete mixes with Q-SCM
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Global Cement & Concrete Association (GCCA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSelected for GCCA Innovandi Open Challenge, presenting at Annual CEO Summit and Demo Day in Bangkok. GCCA fosters partnerships between cement manufacturers and tech startups to reduce concrete's carbon footprint.
• Portland Cement AssociationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry association providing support and credibility. Represents U.S. cement manufacturers and promotes sustainable cement production.
• NSF I-CorpssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational Science Foundation Innovation Corps program supporting entrepreneurship and technology commercialization.
• Rutgers UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic origin of core technology. Co-founder Daniel Kopp earned PhD in Materials Science and continued as Post Doc under Professor Richard Riman (academic co-founder). Technology developed through doctoral research.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sublime Systems: Sublime Systems is developing a low-carbon cement using a novel electrochemical process, targeting direct replacement of traditional Portland cement. Like Queens Carbon, it is a US-based, venture-backed deeptech cement decarbonization startup with non-dilutive DOE funding and incumbent cement industry partnerships.
• Brimstone: Brimstone is producing carbon-negative Portland cement from calcium silicate using a novel process. It is a direct competitor to Queens Carbon in low-carbon cement, targeting the same incumbent cement buyers with a process-based decarbonization approach.
• Fortera: Fortera (formerly Calera) is commercializing a low-carbon cement process that produces a reactive calcium-silicate-based cementitious material. It is a direct peer competing in the same low-carbon cement category, with similar incumbent customer targets and decarbonization value proposition.
• Solidia Technologies: Solidia Technologies offers a CO2-cured concrete and cement-based binder system, with relevance to the carbon-cured materials angle of Queens Carbon's technology. It is an emerging direct peer in low-carbon cementitious materials for the construction market.
• CarbonCure Technologies: CarbonCure injects captured CO2 into fresh concrete during mixing to mineralize it permanently within the concrete. It is a direct peer to Queens Carbon in CO2-utilizing cement and concrete decarbonization, with comparable customer segments in ready-mix and concrete producers.
• Carbon Upcycling Technologies: Carbon Upcycling Technologies produces supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) from CO2 and industrial byproducts, directly overlapping with Queens Carbon's Q-SCM product category. It is a direct peer in low-carbon cementitious material production for the concrete industry.
• Ecocem: Ecocem produces low-carbon cementitious binders and SCMs (including its ACT product) for the European and global cement markets. It is a more established direct peer focused on reducing clinker content in concrete, similar to Queens Carbon's Q-SCM approach.

Broad incumbents

• Holcim: Holcim is one of the world's largest cement manufacturers with a broad portfolio of low-carbon cement and concrete products (e.g., ECOPlanet, TectorCem). It is a broad incumbent whose decarbonization programs compete with and partner alongside startups like Queens Carbon.
• Heidelberg Materials: Heidelberg Materials is a top global cement and aggregates producer investing heavily in carbon-neutral cement (ev_obligha, low-clinker cements). It is a broad incumbent in the same market Queens Carbon targets, and a likely pilot and customer candidate.
• Cemex: Cemex is a global cement major with its Vertua low-carbon product line and a stated net-zero pathway. It is a broad incumbent pursuing similar decarbonization outcomes as Queens Carbon and part of the top-10 cement company cohort referenced in Queens Carbon's industry relationships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/QueensCarbon
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/queens-carbon

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Queens Carbon