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Built by people who built this industry.

Terra is a team of experienced operators and engineers from the construction materials industry—people who understand what matters to your business.

Cement for Humanity™

Portland cement built 
the modern world.

It also accounts for 8% 
of global CO₂ emissions.

We started Terra because we 
believe the industry doesn’t need to choose between performance, cost, and low emissions—it needs building materials that deliver all three.

Cleburne TX plant under construction

Cement for Humanity™

240,000 tons annual capacity

Drop-in replacement

Cost-parity with fly ash

ASTM certified

Funding the future

A combination of Terra’s conservative approach to managing capital resources and successful fundraising has enabled the business to lead the way in funding new low-carbon cement technologies.

Anjy Salinas, Chief Financial Officer22 years of construction contracting experience

TERRA | THE STORY

Terra’s history

How a mine waste problem became a 
decarbonization breakthrough.

Waste not, want not

In 2015, D.J. Lake was finishing graduate school in mineralogy. He took on a project to investigate the stabilization of mine waste impoundments in the Yukon, potentially using local mine tailings to produce a cementitious material.

The science showed promise—and a bigger question emerged: could this lead to a new form of cement that would address the carbon emissions problem associated with traditional Portland cement?

Donald John (D.J.) Lake, PhD

An unlikely meeting

Bill Yearsley, a veteran CEO with 40 years in construction materials, was considering slowing down when an acquaintance shared a snippet of D.J.’s work. Bill almost hit delete—but one Saturday morning he opened the file and read it. Something caught his eye.

He arranged a visit to Vancouver, where D.J. was working in the back of an old industrial warehouse. Bill found the place by spotting an open garage door and a figure in a welding apron. A scientist who could weld. Intrigued, Bill stayed two days to learn everything he could.

Due diligence done

Bill left Vancouver interested but cautious. Over the next six months, he became convinced the technology could be both cost-competitive and scalable. A partnership was born—D.J. and Bill, Terra’s first two real employees.

William (Bill) S. Yearsley, PhD

Getting off the ground

Terra was incorporated in Canada, but Bill knew it needed to be a US company to scale. Running on fumes, the team secured bridge funding and used it to obtain third-party validation of a specification supplementary cementitious material (SCM). Armed with that, Bill and D.J. raised a $10M seed round in partnership with Breakthrough Energy Ventures, who became the lead investor.

Solid foundations

The next several years flew by. Multiple pilot plants were built and improved upon. Terra demonstrated strong material performance and sustained operational reliability—at times running continuously, 24/7, for up to six months.

The team grew with engineers, scientists, and operators. Successful Series A and A-1 rounds provided the runway to pursue true commercialization.

Early Pilot Reactor 3.0 Model to produce a
new generation of cementitious materials

Crossing the valley of death

In 2024, it was time to build a commercial-scale plant capable of supplying a major urban market. Bill had raised many forms of capital over his career, but nothing quite like this.

Raising funds for a “first of a kind” (FOAK) plant is known in the industry as crossing the valley of death—many climate companies fail at this stage. Bill planned to close the Series B in nine months. It took two years. By the time the round closed, cash reserves were dwindling, but Terra succeeded where many others had not.

Very early attempts at vitrifying
rock with a torch and metal tube

commercial deployment

All systems go

Terra commenced commercial deployment in 2026. Its first industrial plant in the Dallas-Fort Worth market is building on schedule. Construction of Terra’s 32,000 sq ft state-of-the-art lab and R&D facility is set to begin later this year, with expanded office space to follow in early 2027.

Market interest remains strong, and today, Terra is well positioned as the emerging leader in alternative cement technology.

Our people

Meet the team

Colorado team — Leadership & Operations

Vancouver BC team — Research & Development

Get in early

If you’re evaluating OPUS SCM™ or OPUS ZERO™,
the conversation starts with our team.

Ready to talk? So are we.

Whether you want to source OPUS SCM™ or explore owning a manufacturing facility in your market, we want to hear from you.