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Decarbonizing Portland cement and concrete industry requires innovative thinking. The attached article includes some of the leading “alternatives” to Portland cement. What are others thoughts on these solutions?

BACKING CEMENT DECARBONISATION⚡♻️👷🧑🔬🇬🇧: Cambridge Electric Cement (CEC), a low-carbon, recycled cement start-up, has closed a £2.25 million seed funding round. Zero Carbon Capital, a decarbonisation-focused investor, led the round, investing alongside existing investors Legal & General, Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, Parkwalk Advisors, Delph25, and Almanac Ventures. This investment will enable CEC to industrialise production of its sustainable cement at Celsa Steel UK’s EAF facility in Cardiff, deliver a real-world construction demonstrator, and advance offtake agreements with partners and customers. Concrete is a critical material in our built environment; we use half a tonne of concrete every year for everyone alive. But it’s responsible for 7.5% of total carbon emissions – triple that of aviation. Decarbonising cement (the energy and CO2-intensive concrete component) is a massive challenge; CEC offers a solution. For the full story🗞️, click here➡️🖱️: https://lnkd.in/emHHWwGP Close up of a cement kiln pic: Photo 262358829 Wirestock Dreamstime.com University of Cambridge Pippa Gawley John Bromley Chris Gibbs Bill Yost Poppy Brewer Cyrille Dunant Patricio Alfonso Burdiles Dr Philippa Horton GCCA – Global Cement and Concrete Association World Cement Association Mineral Products Association Aggregates Europe - UEPG The Institute of Quarrying Ioannis Giannakopoulos Mike Higgins Philip Jarvis Shiju Joseph Raul M. Tim Monroe Aimee McCracken

In recent years, startups across the country have begun devising novel ways of making low-carbon construction materials. Now, many of those companies are banding together to try to rapidly expand the market for low-carbon cement and concrete. Biomason, Blue Planet , Brimstone , CarbonBuilt, Chement, Fortera, Minus Materials, Queens Carbon, Sublime Systems, and Terra CO2 Technology formally launched a first-of-its-kind initiative that aims to accelerate the adoption of cleaner building materials within the $1.8 trillion U.S. construction market. The Decarbonized Cement & Concrete Alliance (DC2) says it will advocate for policies that push the public sector in particular to buy low-carbon products for buildings and infrastructure projects. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3O6o9Ea #concrete #cement #decarbonization #construction

You've seen this movie, right? The one where the status quo is untenable yet the world is tilted toward the incumbents? Well, not if the Decarbonized Cement & Concrete Alliance has anything to do with it. Our own Sal Brzozowski has joined forces with policy leaders from an esteemed set of innovative challengers that are deploying technology to displace the nearly 10% of carbon emissions coming from the concrete sector. Sal's perspective? "In order to unlock the exponential climate benefit of the DC2 members’ technologies, we must overcome the industry’s temptation to embrace incrementalism. DC2’s platform of robust policy, standards, and incentives to scale innovative solutions will not only accelerate deep decarbonization, but also transform the concrete industry from one of the world’s largest CO2 emitters to one of the world’s largest carbon sinks.” Thanks for joining forces Sublime Systems, Biomason, Brimstone , Chement, Fortera, Minus Materials, Queens Carbon, Terra CO2 Technology and Blue Planet. Onward! #climatepolicy #policy #disruption #climatetech #ultralowcarbonconcrete #concrete #decarbonization

About 8% of global carbon emissions are attributed to the production of cement. As concrete is an essential building material in construction projects, it is imperative that we consider implementing sustainable technologies or alternative solutions to reduce our carbon footprint. Read the latest green innovations and techniques used in cement manufacturing here: https://hubs.ly/Q020BdHT0 #Innovation #GreenTechnology #Cement

­Concrete is tough and durable, which means that it can be used in everything from high-rise buildings to railway bridges – but there is a problem: as it is manufactured today concrete generates extremely high carbon dioxide emissions. A ton of cement emits between 550 and 900 kilos of carbon dioxide, making it a big polluter worldwide. New high-tech innovations are now being developed, with inspiration from old solutions going back to the Roman Empire, to decarbonize the dirty concrete industry. SaltX Technology Thomas Concrete Group AB Eric Jacobson Ingemar Lofgren #Greenconcrete #Sustainableindustry #GreenTransition

I always get excited by research advances like this. Simultaneously, I can't get a nagging thought out of my head. Is anyone else skeptical that decarbonizing cement will actually happen in a globally meaningful way? It's hard to believe it could be replaced for any kind of construction above a few stories. Easy to use, widespread labor force trained to apply it, known risks and liabilities for insurance and loans, well-established industry standards on quality, etc... There's a limit to how far it could be decarbonized with additives -- maybe 20%? 30%? The idea that a supply chain involving shipping tons of demolished concrete to recycling centers will come into existence at scale feels unrealistic. What would be the unit economics necessary for covering those costs? The cost of construction in the 21st century post-pandemic is already considered to be extremely high, where would the recurring revenues be coming from to sustain this activity or the political will to make building even more expensive? As an industry, my best guess is that alternatives could be found for buildings one or two stories tall, and concrete could be phased out for those uses. Compressed earth blocks, mass timber, and other fast-growing woods seem like possibilities. For the rest, I don't see why business as usual won't continue indefinitely and be balanced through some form of carbon offsets unrelated to cement manufacturing like planting trees or carbon credits where those markets exist. #sustainability #cement #recycling #circulareconomy #construction #building

Ten of the world's largest concrete companies and cement plants have joined forces to drive forward a roadmap towards net zero emissions in the concrete and cement production process. The likes of Heidelberg, Cemex and Holcim have teamed up with architects and engineers to support the work of the Mission Possible Partnership (MPP), which aims to develop a new strategy that sets out the milestones and commitments needed by government, industry and investors over the next 25 years to make net zero concrete and cement a reality. "Our report sets out precisely what needs to happen to make zero carbon concrete and cement a reality, but time is not on our side," says Faustine Delasalle, CEO of the MPP. "The moment to roll up our sleeves and work together across the value chain and with governments is now. Immediate collaboration and cooperation - from producers through design and construction - together with policymakers and finance - is essential to making the necessary progress this decade." https://bityl.co/MleX

#Concrete and #cement producers worldwide are realizing significant gains in #decarbonization efforts, with European innovations leading the way. The Daily Commercial News and Construction Record lists notable developments that are impacting our industry. Read more below:

Green cement can reduce the carbon emissions by up to 40% by using a carbon - negative manufacturing process. #Fortera, a Silicon Valley tech company just opened the first green cement factory in the USA and vows to reduce the carbon emissions by 70%. How is done? The CO2 is mineralized into a reactive form of calcium carbonate that can be used in the cement. The process speeds up carbon mineralization, which naturally occurs over thousands of years, in order to remove more CO2 in a shorter amount of time. The Forteta plant can capture 6,600 tons of CO2 and produce 15,000 tons of ReAct cement each year and is planning to integrate green energy sources to achieve zero net. #fortera #contech #proptech #building #construction #zeronet #ReAct #siliconvalley #california #usa #siliconvalleyproptechassociation