Microsoft has entered a multi-year agreement with Sublime Systems to purchase up to 622,500 metric tons of its low-carbon cement — marking a major move to cut construction emissions across its infrastructure projects.
The cement, produced using Sublime’s breakthrough electrochemical process, avoids the high-heat, carbon-intensive methods of traditional cement production. Instead, it delivers a “true-zero” solution without requiring carbon capture, offering a scalable path to cleaner building materials.
Deliveries will begin from Sublime’s first commercial plant in Holyoke, Massachusetts, and expand to future large-scale facilities.
Microsoft will use the cement in data centers, offices, and other construction sites where possible. It also secured the right to purchase the cement’s environmental attribute certificates (EACs) separately, similar to renewable energy credits — a move that helps overcome geographic or logistical barriers.
“This purchase enables Microsoft to access Sublime’s low-carbon cement technology regardless of where their construction is,” said Sublime Systems CEO and Co-founder Dr. Leah Ellis.
“This solves a previously intractable challenge for clean cement scale-up: the lack of long-term cement transactions contrasted with the immediate need for innovators to demonstrate bankable customers to fund their manufacturing.”
The EACs will be third-party verified and integrated into a future book-and-claim system. This builds on a 2024 memorandum of understanding between the companies and aligns with work by RMI and other partners to standardize clean materials accounting.
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Sublime’s Holyoke facility — supported by up to $87 million from the US Department of Energy — aims to revitalize US cement production with lower emissions, improved energy efficiency, and domestic supply chain resilience.
Sublime Cement meets ASTM standards as a substitute for ordinary portland cement and offers added benefits like lighter color and improved durability.
Microsoft’s purchase follows successful real-world demonstrations of the product and will help accelerate broader adoption across the construction industry.
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