# Furno Materials

> Furno Materials is a California cleantech company rebuilding how cement is made. Instead of the mile-long rotary kilns that make cement one of the dirtiest industries on earth - roughly 8% of global CO2 - Furno builds compact, modular vertical micro-kilns (the 'Furno Brick') that run at more than 80% thermal efficiency, roughly double a conventional plant. The kilns burn gas-based fuels, eliminate NOx and SOx emissions entirely, cut fossil-fuel emissions by at least 70%, and can reach zero emissions on hydrogen - all while producing standards-grade Ordinary Portland Cement at the point of demand.

- **Founded:** 2020
- **Headquarters:** South San Francisco, California, United States
- **Founders:** Gurinder Nagra (Founder & CEO)
- **Team size:** ~11 employees
- **Products:** Furno Brick, Micro-kiln technology, ASTM-certified Ordinary Portland Cement
- **Notable:** Furno cement achieved ASTM C150 certification, the benchmark for Ordinary Portland Cement, and tested at up to 2x the industry ASTM strength standard., Raised an oversubscribed $6.5M seed round in March 2024, led by Energy Capital Ventures., Awarded a $20M U.S. Department of Energy grant in October 2024 to build low-carbon micro-kilns at Ozinga's Chicago plant.

## Products & services

- **Furno Brick** — A modular, prefabricated, energy-efficient cement production unit - described as the world's first nimble, modular cement plant. It uses compact vertical kilns rather than mile-long rotary kilns, operating at greater than 80% thermal efficiency (roughly double a conventional plant).
- **Micro-kiln technology** — Novel combustion and kiln technology using gas-based (oxyfuel) fuels instead of solid fuels. Cuts fossil-fuel emissions by at least 70%, eliminates NOx and SOx entirely, and can reach zero emissions when powered by hydrogen.
- **ASTM-certified Ordinary Portland Cement** — Furno produces standards-grade Ordinary Portland Cement that has achieved ASTM C150 certification and was tested at strengths up to 2x the industry ASTM standard - allowing drop-in use without a performance trade-off.

## Achievements

- Furno cement achieved ASTM C150 certification, the benchmark for Ordinary Portland Cement, and tested at up to 2x the industry ASTM strength standard.
- Raised an oversubscribed $6.5M seed round in March 2024, led by Energy Capital Ventures.
- Awarded a $20M U.S. Department of Energy grant in October 2024 to build low-carbon micro-kilns at Ozinga's Chicago plant.
- Developed the Furno Brick, described as the world's first modular, carbon-neutral cement plant, at >80% thermal efficiency.
- Selected among Cemex Ventures' Top 50 construction-tech startups.

## Latest updates

- **2025-12** — Announced a partnership with Maschmeyer Concrete to pioneer onshored cement production and upcycle ~90,000 tons of annual waste concrete.
- **2024-10** — Landed a $20M U.S. Department of Energy grant to build up to eight low-carbon micro-kilns at Ozinga's Chinatown Yard in Chicago.
- **2024-03** — Closed an oversubscribed $6.5M seed round led by Energy Capital Ventures to scale its micro-kiln technology.

## Links

- Website: https://furno.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/furnomaterials

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/furno-materials
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-05