The people
What they build
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Working at Watershed Materials
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On the TechVancouver stage
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About
Watershed Materials is a US sustainable-materials company based in Napa, California, that develops low-carbon alternatives to conventional concrete masonry. Its Watershed Block replaces most of the cement in a standard block with activated natural clays and unwashed site aggregate, dramatically reducing the carbon and embodied energy of the material — cement production alone accounts for roughly 7% of global CO2. Early research was supported by US federal SBIR grants. Co-founder Joseph Dahmen, an MIT-trained architect, presented the company on the TechVancouver stage in 2017; he has since become an associate professor at the University of British Columbia. The company remains US-based and is not a Canadian company — it appears here because Dahmen took the TechVancouver stage.
Backers
Early R&D supported by US Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants. Additional funding is not confirmed here.
Quick answers
What does Watershed Materials do?
It makes low-carbon masonry. Its Watershed Block swaps most of the cement in a standard concrete block for activated clays and local site soils, cutting embodied carbon and energy while meeting ASTM standards.
Where is Watershed Materials based?
Napa, California. It is a US company; it appears in this directory because co-founder Joseph Dahmen, now a UBC professor, presented it at TechVancouver in 2017.
How much carbon does it save?
On the TechVancouver stage in 2017, co-founder Joseph Dahmen said the approach cuts about 80 to 90 percent of the embodied impacts of a conventional block by excavating and processing soils on site.