ABOUT US
CarbonBuilt’s core technology emerged out of the Institute for Carbon Management at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Led by Gaurav Sant, a third-generation civil engineer, the UCLA team conceptualized the potential to address climate change by embedding industrial CO₂ emissions in the production of concrete in an economically viable fashion.
Sant and his team developed the Reversa™ process, which injects CO₂ emissions directly from industrial sources (like cement, bio-energy, and natural gas plants) into a new formulation for concrete, where it is converted into calcium carbonate (think limestone and seashells) and no longer a threat to the environment. The Reversa process reduces emissions by at least 50 percent relative to traditional concrete production.
Today, CarbonBuilt is led by CEO Rahul Shendure, who has spent twenty years commercializing sustainable technologies ranging from fuel cells to advanced biochemicals. The growing team includes concrete experts as well as climate tech and heavy industry veterans.
OUR VISION
A world in which global economic prosperity
is no longer a threat to the climate.
OUR MISSION
To enable concrete manufacturing to drive large-scale greenhouse gas reductions
through the cost-effective utilization of CO₂ and other industrial waste.
OUR VALUES
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Optimism. Our innovations can and will have a transformative impact on ensuring the sustainability of our world.
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Engineering for Impact. An innovation isn’t a success unless it is commercialized. We focus on breakthrough inventions that will make a difference to the world we live in.
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Performance & Functionality. We build products that deliver the performance our customers require as well as significant environmental, economic and societal benefits.
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Diversity. We have a responsibility to create opportunities for women and people of color within our company and thus serve as a model for the construction industry.
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Transparency. We are forthright with our stakeholders about the opportunities and limitations of our technologies, and advocate for all industry players to do the same.
LEADERSHIP
Gaurav Sant
Founder & CTO
Gaurav Sant is an Associate Professor and Henry Samueli Fellow in UCLA’s Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering as well as Director of the Institute of Carbon Management, which is developing pioneering market-focused technology solutions to reduce the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Gaurav led the team at the Laboratory for the Chemistry of Construction Materials that developed CarbonBuilt's Reversa technology.
His work has been supported by federal and state agencies, foundations, and Fortune 500 corporations, and recognized by awards from the National Science Foundation, American Concrete Institute, American Institute for Chemical Engineering, and International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures. Gaurav has published over 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications.
Gaurav received a PhD, MS, and BS in Civil Engineering from Purdue University.
CEO
Rahul Shendure
Rahul Shendure brings more than 20 years of leadership experience with pioneering climate- and bio-tech companies to his role as CEO of CarbonBuilt.
After starting his career as a chemical engineer in GE’s plastics business, he held senior product management and business development roles at Amyris and Ballard Power Systems, and co-founded Oscilla Power, where he remains Board Chair. He also co-founded cancer diagnostics company Bellwether Bio, which was acquired by Guardant Health in 2019.
He is an investor in over twenty early-stage climate-tech companies.
Rahul earned a BS in Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a MBA from Harvard Business School.
Ed Muller
Chairman
Ed Muller is chair of CarbonBuilt’s board of directors. In addition, he serves as the Chairman of the Institute for Carbon Management’s Advisory Board. He is the retired Vice Chairman of NRG Energy, Inc., an energy company that produces and sells electricity throughout the United States. Prior to the merger of GenOn Energy Inc. and NRG in 2012, he was Chairman and Chief Executive of GenOn, a competing producer and marketer of electricity.
Ed’s previous leadership appointments include Chairman and Chief Executive of Mirant Corporation, and President and Chief executive officer of Edison Mission Energy, a wholly owned global power subsidiary of Edison International.
Ed is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Pacific Council on International Policy and the Board of Trustees of the Riverview School (which he chaired for four years), and previously was Chairman of the U.S.-Philippines Business Committee and Co-Chairman of the International Energy Development Council. He received his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and a J.D. from Yale Law School.