When you think of carbon emissions related to driving, you probably think of emissions coming from your vehicle. But the road you’re driving on almost certainly also emits carbon. In its production and its application, the asphalt used for roadways contributes to the carbon cycle that is blamed for rising sea level and extreme weather conditions.
But that’s only true of hot-mix asphalt. Cold-mix asphalt, which is the focus of Verde Resources Inc., actually helps remove carbon from the atmosphere, by turning roads into a permanent carbon sink.
Headquartered in Clayton, the 15-year-old company produces and sells biochar—black charcoal made from biogenic waste, such as wood, manure, or crop waste. Verde Resources Inc. partners with existing asphalt producers and mixing plants to provide this sustainable alternative to hot-mix asphalt.
“So think of existing mixing plants like existing McDonalds,” says Jack Wong, the company’s CEO. “You’re already making regular Big Macs every day right now with your existing outlet. All you need is to buy a special spice from us—buying biochar from us—to make a green Big Mac, which is healthier, cheaper, and also generates carbon credits.”
This past spring, Verde was able to generate the world’s first carbon removal credits from asphalt applications—representing a capture of carbon dioxide versus the reduction or avoidance credits that prevent CO2 emissions. Carbon removal directly pulls CO2 out of the atmosphere, which helps counteract past and ongoing emissions.
Recently, the company signed a 10-year exclusive licensing agreement with Ergon Asphalt and Emulsions—the largest liquid asphalt and emulsion marketer and manufacturer in North America. With that licensing agreement, Ergon will supply Verde’s biochar to its customers, who represent 80 percent of asphalt mixing plants across the U.S. Verde Resources Inc. also has a three-year research agreement with the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) at Auburn University, sometimes called the MIT of asphalt.
“What’s unique about our technology is that a lot of the applications that use recycled asphalt go underneath the surface layer,” says Eric Bava, Verde’s chief operating officer. “What we are doing now is validating it and getting it certified at NCAT to allow this material to be applied on the surface.”
Using recycled pavement on the surface layer not only helps the environment, but it helps businesses, too, by lowering project costs and delays; reducing the need for new mining aggregates, such as gravel or sand; and helping prevent wear and tear on roads.
For instance, construction companies that use hot-mix asphalt are generally closed for several months in the winter, because hot-mix asphalt cannot be made and paved in cold temperatures. In addition, to create hot-mix asphalt, you must put the product on burners, which creates significant energy costs.
“We’re not only saving on the energy and the emissions, but we’re saving on the cost, because after we mix it, then we go to place it on the road,” says Bava. “We don’t need any heats or solvents to heat it up to place it.”
Bad winter weather can also damage pavement when water and salt to treat icy roads find their way beneath the pavement’s surface. Using recycled asphalt on the surface layer instead increases resistance to cracking and potholes, Verde says—resulting in the need for fewer repairs over time.
Verde Resources Inc. plans to go from serving American customers to taking its product into other parts of the world—positioning the U.S. as the flagship and standard bearer of sustainable infrastructure. And that all started in St. Louis.
“People like to think that St. Louis is the gateway to sustainable infrastructure,” says Wong.
For Media and Investors: info@verderesources.com
Crocker Coulson, AUM MediaCrocker.coulson@aummedia.org
(646) 652-7185.
Read the full article on the official St. Louis Magazine website.
