Ecocem invests in research centre to decarbonise cement industry

Ecocem has announced the opening of its new Research and Innovation centre in France. Image: Ecocem

The company says that the centre represents a significant investment in innovation and will play a key role in Ecocem’s strategy to deliver decarbonisation solutions to the cement and concrete industries.

Costing over €10 million (US$11.7 million), the 3300m² facility reinforces Ecocem’s commitment to science-based disruption, and its focus on developing and delivering low carbon cement technologies capable of using a range of alternative SCMs (supplementary cementitious materials) and mineral additions to replace clinker, the carbon-intensive component in cement which is responsible for over 90% of its emissions.

By enabling further cement decarbonisation beyond the 70% already achievable with Ecocem’s ACT technology, the centre will support Ecocem’s ambition to provide the cement industry with the means to reach net zero by 2040, ten years ahead of global targets, and without reliance on carbon capture.

“For 25 years Ecocem has focused exclusively on low-carbon cement technologies. With ACT, our scalable low carbon cement technology close to commercial availability, the new centre will allow us to go further and faster,” said Donal O’Riain, founder and global managing director of Ecocem. 

“We will build on the 18 million tonnes of CO₂ reductions already achieved and accelerate the development of solutions that can deliver net zero cement by 2040, 10 years ahead of schedule.”

This announcement follows other recent milestones for ACT, including regulatory approvals in France, a new production plant in Dunkirk, a further €170 million (US$199 million) investment to construct four new ACT production lines in France by 2030, industry certification in the US and partnerships with construction firms such as Bouygues and Vinci Construction.