The Urgent Call for Low Carbon Cement Technologies

A Group Of Top-Notch Scientists Are Pushing For The Cement And Construction Industries To Start Using Low Carbon Cement Technologies To Cut Down On CO2 Emissions. They Say That Cement Is Causing Almost 8% Of The World’S CO2 Emissions, Which Is More Than What Shipping, Aviation, And Long-Haul Trucking Produce Combined. These Scientists Recently Met In Paris At A Symposium Hosted By Ecocem, A Leading Low Carbon Cement Technology Company, To Discuss The Latest Research On Low Carbon Cement And Come Up With Ways To Speed Up The Reduction Of CO2 In The Sector.

The Demand For Cement Is Expected To Go Up In The Next Few Decades, With Some Experts Predicting A 45% Increase By 2050. The Scientists Stressed The Need For Quick And Effective Solutions To Decarbonize The Construction Sector In Line With A 1.5°C Trajectory. They Believe That Adopting The Latest Low Carbon Cement Technologies Is The Fastest And Most Scalable Way To Significantly Reduce Emissions In The Cement And Construction Industries By 2030.

The Cement Industry Has Always Been Seen As Difficult To Change Because Of The Use Of Clinker, The Main Ingredient In Cement, Which Is Made By Heating Limestone At Very High Temperatures. Although Low Carbon Cements Already Exist, The Challenge Has Been To Make Them More Widely Available. During The Symposium, The Scientists Discussed New Evidence On The Use Of Alternative Materials That Can Reduce The Amount Of Clinker, Replacing It With A Variety Of Locally Sourced Filler Materials And Natural Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs).

In A Call To Action, The 11 Scientists, Representing Various Institutions From Around The World, Emphasized That Technology And Costs Are No Longer Barriers To Decarbonizing Cement. They Pointed Out That Materials Science Has Advanced To A Point Where Rapid Decarbonization Of Cement Is Now A Reality Without Excessive Costs.

One Of The Leading Technologies In This Field Is ACT, Developed By Ecocem, Which Can Reduce Cement Emissions By 70% While Maintaining The Workability, Strength, And Durability Of The Concrete Produced. ACT Also Uses Substantially Less Water And Energy. This Technology Is Globally Scalable And Can Be Produced In Existing Cement Plants With Minimal Additional Investment.

Mohend Chaouche, CNRS Research Director, ENS Paris-Saclay, Laboratoire Mécanique De Paris-Saclay, And Director Of The CNRS-Ecocem Joint Laboratory MC²E, Stated, “The Urgency Of Developing And Deploying Low-Carbon Cements Is No Longer Up For Debate. ENS Paris-Saclay Is Very Proud To Have Contributed To The Birth Of The ACT Technology, Which Reduces The Carbon Footprint Of Cement By 70%. The Intense Years Of R&D Have Paid Off.”

Martin Cyr, University Professor At University Of Toulouse, Laboratory Of Materials And Sustainability Of Constructions And Director Of The Joint LMDC-Ecocem ORISON Laboratory, Added, “Low-Clinker Technologies Developed And Validated In The Laboratory Can Now Be Deployed Without Scientific Or Technical Barriers. These Technologies Represent A Significant Step Towards Reducing CO2 Emissions, Ahead Of The Industry’S 2030 Roadmap.”

Donal O’Riain, Founder And Managing Director Of Ecocem, Concluded, “The Widespread Adoption Of ACT Technology Will Enable The Cement Industry To Drastically Reduce Its Global Emissions Rapidly And Cost Effectively. Policymakers Must Speed Up Regulatory Enablement To Ensure Low Carbon Cement Technologies Can Be Used More Widely And That The Investment Is Made Available To Accelerate Industrial Deployment Of These New Technologies. I Urge The Cement Sector To Move Quickly. We Have The Opportunity To Be The First Industrial Sector To Comply With A 50% Reduction In Emissions By The End Of 2030. The Technology Is Available To Decarbonise The Whole Cement Sector In Line With Limiting Global Warming To 1.5°C. It Is Now Our Responsibility To Ensure This Happens.”