Founder Robert Niven has stepped down as CEO of CarbonCure Technologies. The company has named Chief Financial Officer Kristal Kaye as Interim CEO.

The Dartmouth-based company issued a statement Monday saying Niven – who founded the company forerunner Carbon Sense Solutions in 2007 – will remain involved as a board member. The current CarbonCure company launched in 2012.

Under Niven’s leadership, CarbonCure has become one of Canada’s leading cleantech startups, winning US$8 million in the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE in 2021. In 2023, it closed a US$80 million funding round, whose investors included Breakthrough Energy Ventures, backed by Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg and other multi-billionaires.

“Everyone at CarbonCure feels deep gratitude to Rob for his pioneering carbon utilization innovation for lower carbon concrete and his tireless dedication to CarbonCure over the past 13 years, with many years of research and development before that,” Kaye said in the statement. “Stepping into this interim role, I am eager to carry Rob’s legacy forward, and our entire team remains committed to that mission, our core values and the success of our concrete producer partners around the world.”

With 22 years of executive leadership across a variety of industries, including mining, energy and retail pharmacy, Kaye brings to the Interim CEO position extensive experience in corporate strategy and financial management and a fresh perspective on the company’s near-term priorities, said CarbonCure.

The statement gave no indication of the process or timeline for selecting a permanent CEO.  

CarbonCure said its technologies allow concrete producers to unlock new revenue streams and cut cement costs.  CarbonCure sells technology to inject carbon dioxide into concrete, sequestering it and strengthening the end product. Concrete is the second most abundant man-made material in the world. And cement, its key ingredient, is responsible for an estimated 7 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions.

"Founding and leading CarbonCure has been the honour of a lifetime, and I’m immensely proud of what we’ve achieved together,” Niven said. “From our award-winning innovations and strong industry partnerships to our lasting climate impact, none of it would have been possible without the extraordinary talent, passion and dedication of our team.

“Stepping back from day-to-day leadership of a company I love—one that has shaped so much of my life and career—was not an easy decision. But I’m very glad to continue serving on CarbonCure’s Board and supporting its ongoing success with full confidence in Kristal’s leadership."

Over the past decade, CarbonCure has licensed hundreds of its carbon dioxide injection systems to concrete producers across more than two dozen countries, permanently mineralizing and reducing nearly 600,000 metric tons of CO2 while supplying 8.8 million truckloads of CarbonCure concrete.