As industries around the world race to reduce emissions, Calgary is increasingly attracting companies building the technologies that will help heavy industry transition to a lower-carbon future.
For cleantech firm CURA, that meant choosing Calgary as the place to scale.
Originally developed at the University of British Columbia, the company is focused on decarbonizing cement manufacturing — one of the world’s most emissions-intensive industries — through a lower-energy, lower-carbon process.
According to the company, cement production is responsible for roughly eight per cent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions — equivalent to the emissions produced by all cars and trucks combined globally. CURA says its retrofit-ready technology can reduce emissions from cement manufacturing by up to 85 per cent while remaining cost-effective.
While the company’s roots trace back to Vancouver, CURA’s leadership team decided to move to Calgary in December 2025. They say Calgary offers a unique combination of industrial expertise, commercialization support, technical talent and access to customers that are aligned with the company’s long-term growth plans.
“We decided to take a hard look at all the major Canadian cities to see what would make the most sense for our company,” said Sabrina Scott, COO and co-founder of CURA.
“We landed on Calgary for a variety of reasons.”
Those reasons included Alberta’s cleantech funding ecosystem, startup supports and proximity to major industry players. In March, just three months after the move, the company received $500,000 from Alberta Innovates to support the development of its technology.
The company’s expansion to Calgary reflects the kind of innovation and industrial transformation prioritized through Uplook: An Action Plan for Our Economy, Calgary’s long-term economic action plan focused on growing a more resilient, globally competitive and innovation-driven economy.
“CURA is exactly the kind of company helping shape Calgary’s future economy — innovative, globally minded and focused on solving real-world challenges,” said Brad Parry, President and CEO of Calgary Economic Development.
“Their decision to scale in Calgary speaks to the strength of our cleantech ecosystem, our technical talent and the growing momentum around industrial innovation in the Blue Sky City.”
An ecosystem built for scaling
CURA has also quickly integrated into Calgary’s innovation ecosystem, establishing R&D labs at the University of Calgary’s Life Sciences Innovation Hub, connecting with the ETC Foundation and leveraging flexible startup and lab space designed to help early-stage companies scale efficiently.
The company says Calgary’s collaborative business environment and concentration of engineering and industrial expertise has helped accelerate its growth.
“Coming into Calgary as a new startup, we’ve been welcomed with open arms,” said Scott. “Everyone has been really open and willing to help.”
That warm welcome has directly translated to new opportunities for commercialization.
Earlier this year, CURA announced a partnership with Grand Forks Concrete to deploy both a pilot-scale demonstration plant and its first commercial facility in southern Alberta. The company has also signed an MOU with international cement producer TITAN Group to validate its low-carbon cement technology as it looks to expand globally.
CURA is also collaborating with construction firm Aecon Group to test and validate its low-carbon cement against conventionally produced cement, including material validation, concrete testing and a future flagship construction project.
Scaling globally from Calgary
For Erin Bobicki, CEO and co-founder of CURA, Calgary’s deep-rooted energy expertise created a strong foundation for the company’s next stage of growth.
“There’s a lot of expertise in scaling technologies that’s come out of the energy industry,” said Bobicki.
She said that foundation, combined with Calgary’s technical talent and industrial expertise, makes the city a strong place to build and commercialize cleantech.
That combination of talent, infrastructure, investment support and market access is helping CURA move quickly toward commercialization, with plans to launch its first commercial unit in southern Alberta and continue growing internationally from Calgary. The company is also aiming to double its team over the next year as it scales its operations and advances toward commercialization.
“We want to be selling equipment into the cement space globally out of Calgary,” said Bobicki.
As Calgary continues to grow as a hub for energy transition and industrial innovation, companies like CURA are helping demonstrate how the city’s expertise, talent and business environment can support the commercialization of globally relevant climate solutions.
For the company, Calgary is more than new headquarters; it’s the launchpad for scaling a technology designed to help decarbonize one of the world’s most essential industries.
Calgary is building on its strengths in energy, engineering and industrial innovation to support the next generation of climate solutions. Learn more about how Calgary is advancing opportunities in energy transition, cleantech and environmental innovation here.