Leading cement producers Holcim and CRH have announced plans to invest $75 million in a low-carbon cement production method developed by Massachusetts company Sublime Systems.
This partnership will include a green cement purchase from Sublime’s pilot plants and a commitment to work together on launching more plant sites in the future.
As part of the hard-to-abate construction industry, cement and concrete contribute to about 8% of CO2 emissions. Despite their significant carbon footprint, these materials remain vital for the production of many infrastructure components.
Acknowledging this problem, Holcim and CRH made this investment decision, looking for ways to decarbonize the cement production process in their operations.
Conventional cement production often relies on processes that generate large amounts of CO2, such as the use of coal-powered kilns for heating, the decomposition of limestone, as well as quarrying and grinding the materials.
In an attempt to address this issue, Sublime came up with a method for cement production that provides an electrochemical alternative to the heating up of limestone with fossil-fuel-based kilns.
According to Leah Ellis, co-founder and CEO at Sublime, tests conducted at their 250-ton-per-year pilot plant showed a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to traditional concrete production.
This notable breakthrough marks a promising step forward towards the sustainable transition of the construction industry.
Relevant: Sublime Systems Announces The First Ever Commercial Use Of Its Net Zero Cement
Currently, Sublime is building a commercial plant with a capacity of 30,000 tons per year. Set to be located in Holyoke, Massachusetts, the facility is expected to be completed in 2026.
As one of six recipients of the Department of Energy’s $1.6 billion program for cement and concrete decarbonization, Sublime Systems has been on a steady growing streak, with the recent investment from Holcim and CRH bringing their total funding to over $165 million.
Their vision for the future is to provide the innovative technology to larger cement companies that would use it to build new plants or retrofit old ones.
The startup also hopes to eventually achieve a reduction in green cement prices, allowing them to compete with the affordable conventional cement available on the market and increasing the demand for their alternative product.
Read more: Holcim To Invest €500 Million In New Plant For Net Zero Cement
