Betolar

Betolar Plc is a Finnish materials technology company that operates as a circular economy enabler, targeting the global mining and construction industries. Founded in 2016 by Juha Leppänen, the company originated from his experiments to create more ecological construction materials for a personal house building project, leading to the successful replacement of cement with ash. This initial success addressed his concern over the significant CO2 emissions from cement production, which account for a substantial portion of global emissions.

The company's business model is centered on licensing its technology rather than manufacturing materials itself. Betolar provides its clients—concrete product manufacturers and mining companies—with its Geoprime® solution, a tailored chemical recipe, continuous R&D, expert services, and data support. This asset-light approach allows customers to adopt low-carbon production with minimal investment in new machinery, often only requiring an additive container and a pump. Revenue is generated through licensing fees based on the volume of Geoprime® products manufactured, alongside regular maintenance fees. Betolar listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market in Finland in December 2021, raising approximately EUR 35 million in gross proceeds to accelerate its international growth and R&D efforts.

Betolar's core offering is the Geoprime® solution, a technology that replaces cement with binders made from industrial side streams, such as blast furnace slag from the steel industry, fly ash, and mining tailings. This process can reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 80% compared to traditional cement-based concrete. To optimize the performance and consistency of these alternative materials, the company leverages an AI-powered platform. This platform analyzes how various side streams interact to ensure a solid, uniform binding agent and helps identify new utilization potential for industrial waste through its SidePrime™ analytics service. The technology is versatile, enabling the production of various precast products like paving stones, pipes, and structural elements such as the world's lowest-emission hollow-core slabs. Beyond construction, Betolar develops solutions for the mining industry, including cement-free options for backfilling and the stabilization of tailings.

The company has established a global commercial presence, signing agreements with partners in Europe and Asia, including Belgium, Denmark, and India. Strategic collaborations are a key part of its strategy, with partnerships aimed at developing new applications, such as utilizing purified blast furnace slag and creating low-carbon solutions for mining operations with companies like Norge Mineraler AS and Latitude 66. The company updated its strategy to focus more intensely on the mining and metals industries and on strengthening its position in the side stream value chain.

Keywords: materials technology, green transition, circular economy, low-carbon concrete, cement-free solutions, Geoprime, industrial side streams, construction materials, mining technology, waste upcycling, sustainable construction, geopolymer, emission reduction, Nasdaq First North, Juha Leppänen, concrete alternatives, AI material analysis, SidePrime, hollow-core slabs, mining backfill