CRH

Manufacturing

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CRH Launches New Venture Capital Unit

December 14, 2022

On 14 December, 2022, our Group announced the launch of its new venture capital unit, CRH Ventures. This will support the development of new technologies and solutions to meet the increasingly complex needs of our customers and the evolving trends in construction.

With access to our existing $250 million Innovation and Venturing Fund, CRH Ventures will partner with external construction and climate technology companies operating across the value chain. It will serve as a valuable partner to start-ups and entrepreneurs who will benefit from the technical capabilities, knowledge and expertise of a global industry leader. With funding, they will be able to pilot and scale new innovations that will enable safer, smarter and more sustainable construction.

To date, CRH Ventures has made two investments: AICrete, which uses artificial intelligence methods to perfect the design of concrete mixes, reducing emissions by up to 35%; and Carbon Upcycling, which captures CO2 into industrial by-products, to then be used as cement alternatives in the production of concrete.

CRH Ventures adds another string to our bow as “We stand together to reinvent the way our world is built”.  Its launch complements some other innovation initiatives already up and running across our Group, ensuring that we are mobilising on multiple fronts to drive impact at scale.

  • Innovation Fund – Earlier this year, we announced a new internal Innovation Fund. While CRH Ventures will invest in external start-ups, the Innovation Fund is designed to support innovative ideas internally in CRH – ideas which may have a broader application across the Group but would be difficult to progress without a bigger investment. Underpinning this is a ‘safe to innovate’ culture, creating space for teams to be courageous, to try new things, fail, learn, pivot, and try again.

  • Innovation Centre for Sustainable Construction (ICSC) – Originally founded in 2018, the ICSC has developed to become an open innovation hub. It now connects our community of global experts and lab resources from CRH businesses in Australia, Europe, and North America across all our business lines, to collaborate and create value through innovation. Together with academia and partners within and outside our industry, the ICSC is working to develop sustainable solutions and leverage technology to create a more efficient and industrialised construction value chain. With the support of the CRH Innovation Fund, ICSC teams will help develop and champion projects for execution in our operating companies.

Queensferry Crossing - Edinburgh, Scotland

Over 100,000 rebar couplers, manufactured by CRH company Ancon, have been used in the concrete support towers, end piers and road deck of one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in the world. The Queensferry Crossing, near Edinburgh, Scotland, opened in May 2017.