Displaying items by tag: low carbon cement

Nigeria: Lafarge Africa has launched ECOPlanet Unicem, the country's first low-carbon multipurpose cement, from its Mfamosing plant in Cross River State. The new product is reportedly designed with over 30% reduction in CO₂ emissions. ECOPlanet will be available nationwide by the end of 2024.

US: Holcim US in Missouri will receive US$1.37m from President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act to support the reduction of climate pollution in manufacturing construction materials, as announced by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The grant is part of a broader effort to reduce emissions from the manufacturing industry and will aid Holcim's Environmental Product Declaration Accelerator Project.

EPA Region 7 Administrator, Meg McCollister, said "We commend Holcim for its work in advancing sustainable practices to reduce carbon emissions here in the Heartland and across our nation. Its innovative approach, supported by this grant, advances climate-friendly practices and sustainability in one of our nation's most important industries."

US: Vineyard Offshore has agreed to buy 2000t of cement from Sublime Systems, a Massachusetts startup planning a US$150m ‘carbon-free’ cement plant in the city. The cement will be used for turbine platforms and onshore civil works within the Vineyard Wind 2 project, aiming to reduce its carbon footprint. This agreement is contingent on the project's selection in upcoming solicitations.

Germany: Alcemy, manufacturer of low-carbon ‘Cem X’ cement, has raised US$10m to scale up its cement decarbonisation solution. The funding round will support research and development and Alcemy's entry into new markets, including the US, in 2024.

CEO Leopold Spenner said "With this additional nearly US$10m in funding and support from Norrsken VC, in addition to our first-round investors, we're paving the way to a low-carbon construction industry, one project at a time."

UK: Aggregate Industries has commenced civil construction at its new manufacturing facility and import terminal at the Port of Tilbury. This new grinding station and storage facility aims to be fully operational by 2026.

The project will allow the company to supply conventional, low-carbon and circular cementitious materials 24 hours a day from five loading heads, meeting growing demands for sustainable building materials. It includes investments in new plant equipment for manufacturing blended cements and lower carbon cement components, such as ground granulated blast furnace slag and materials from construction demolition.

US: Solidia Technologies has entered a technology licensing agreement with CalPortland. The deal grants CalPortland limited rights to use Solidia’s patents, which can reportedly reduce the carbon footprint of cement and concrete by up to 50%. The limited licenses will allow CalPortland to use the Solidia technology to develop low carbon solutions. CalPortland also purchased certain laboratory and plant assets from Solidia.

CEO of Solidia Technologies, Russell Hill, said "CalPortland's unwavering commitment to decarbonisation of the cement and concrete industries makes it a great partner for continuing the vast development and research advanced by Solidia more than a decade ago."

US: Queens Carbon has secured a US$14.5m grant from the US Department of Energy under its SCALEUP program. The funding will support the pilot of Queens Carbon's low temperature, ‘zero CO₂’ emission technology at an existing cement production site. Queens Carbon's supplementary cementitious materials, which replace 20-50% of the high-CO₂ binder in cement, will be produced at a pilot plant with a capacity of 10t/day.

CEO Daniel Kopp said “This SCALEUP grant is a tremendous step forward on our path to commercialisation. Partnering with the Department of Energy and a major cement industry player to deploy, operate, and optimise our 10t/day pilot plant will put us on an accelerated path to gigatonne-scale CO₂ reductions.”

Global: Vattenfall and Cemvision have agreed to develop and supply low carbon cement, aiming to cut CO₂ emissions by 95% from traditional levels, according to Vattenfall. This agreement is underpinned by a letter of intent. The partnership utilises Cemvision’s technology, producing cement from recycled industrial materials and powered by renewable energy.

Cemvision CEO Oscar Hållén said "We are delighted to deepen our partnership with Vattenfall and to welcome them to our growing customer base. Already today in our demo production, we are reducing carbon emissions by 80%, and as we optimise processes and supply chain, we will reduce by up to 95% by 2030. Near-zero emission cement is the most efficient way to achieve significant climate benefits without increasing the overall cost of a construction project.”

Germany: Berlin-based AI startup Alcemy, in partnership with German cement producer Spenner, has produced a commercially viable low-carbon cement alternative named ‘CEM X’. This product reportedly reduces carbon emissions by 65% and has less than 30% clinker content, according to the company. The composition incorporates a blend of 33% granulated blast furnace slag and 37% limestone.

Alcemy CEO Leopold Spenner said "With 'CEM X,' we have reached a significant milestone on our journey to decarbonising the cement industry.”

France/Europe: Eurazeo, via its Smart City fund, alongside the EIC Fund and existing investors, is supporting Materrup with a €26m fundraising effort to expand its low-carbon cement technology across France and Europe. This investment will accelerate the deployment of Materrup's circular low-carbon cement plants using its non-calcined clay technology. Already operational with its first scale plant in Landes, Materrup plans to establish an additional 10 plants, in collaboration with European industrial partners.