Texas startup eyes greener roads
A University of Texas-backed startup, Terra Pave International Inc., has an environmentally friendly option for road construction.
A University of Texas-backed startup has developed a more environment-friendly alternative to a common paving material, and it has raised $1.65 million from investors to help it crack the multibillion-dollar road construction industry.
Terra Pave International Inc. — founded by Andres Jackson and Yetkin Yildirim — is the company behind Terra Prime, the primary use of which bonds the loose bottom layer of road material before asphalt is laid.
The founders are touting it to replace MC-30, a type of cutback asphalt prepared by mixing asphalt cement with a petroleum-based solvent. MC-30’s use has raised environmental concerns among engineers — including danger from breathing its fumes, water pollution and fire — that has prompted some states to ban it and others, including Texas, to limit its use.
Terra Pave is entering a $10 billion global road construction market. The top 15 countries account for 80 percent of the demand, and the U.S. market is $2 billion.
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