Green Cement Technologies: 422 Megatonnes Extra CO2 Avoided by 2035

Concrete is essential to modern life, but its key ingredient, cement, is responsible for 7% of global anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. As global populations rise and more regions urbanize, cutting back on construction isn't a viable decarbonization strategy. According to the new IDTechEx report, "Decarbonization of Cement 2025-2035: Technologies, Market Forecasts, and Players", leading cement decarbonization technologies, including supplementary cementitious materials, alternative fuels, and carbon capture, will avoid an additional 422 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions, in the cement sector over the coming decade.

 

 

 

Technologies for CCUS (carbon capture, utilization, and storage) are expensive. This has long been a barrier for CCUS project development in the low-margin cement industry, but many large-scale projects are expected to come online this decade. There will be significant regional variation, with Europe expected to lead the charge due to mechanisms such as the Innovation Fund, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and the Emissions Trading System (ETS).

 

The most economical carbon capture solution for the cement sector has not been determined yet. Carbon capture technology providers such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Aker Carbon Capture are betting on mature amine-solvent based technologies for megatonne-per-annum scale CCUS at cement plants, while others seek to more drastically alter the cement production process using oxyfuel or indirect calcination solutions to lower capture costs. The new IDTechEx report, "Decarbonization of Cement 2025-2035: Technologies, Market Forecasts, and Players", provides comprehensive coverage of all aspects of the CCUS value chain in the cement sector from carbon pricing and carbon markets, carbon capture technologies, CO₂ transportation, CO₂ storage, CO₂ utilization, and costs.

 

 

Repurposing waste materials such as coal fly ash from the energy sector and GBFS (granulated blast furnace slag) from the steel sector as supplementary cementitious materials is already a well-established practice in the cement sector. Primarily motivated by lower-cost materials, additional benefits of this practice include lowering cement's carbon footprint. With the biggest role to play in cement sector decarbonization over the coming decade, supply, economics, and industry trends will influence the use of supplementary cementitious materials.

 

 

 

Sectors including cement, steel, alumina, and chemicals/pharmaceuticals require high-temperature industrial heat. Traditionally, such high temperatures have required fossil fuels. While biomass-based and waste-based fuels are playing an ever-increasing role, there is commercial interest in hydrogen, renewable electricity, and concentrated solar power as energy sources.

 

Electrification of high-temperature process heat can use established technologies such as resistive or plasma heating, but development has been hindered historically by high renewable energy prices, lack of renewable power infrastructure, and lack of high-temperature thermal energy storage to negate the intermittency of renewables. Key start-ups in the electrified cement production space include Cambridge Electric Cement, Coolbrook, SaltX, Rondo Energy, and Sublime Systems.

 

 

Like many other sectors, cement producers are targeting net zero by 2050. New cement raw materials, chemistries, and production processes have a vital role to play, but the early-stage nature of some solutions means start-ups require further demonstration and investment. The new IDTechEx report "Decarbonization of Cement 2025-2035: Technologies, Market Forecasts, and Players" enables the best investment opportunities to be identified.

 

IDTechEx's new report gives a comprehensive outlook of the emerging cement decarbonization space and regulatory landscape, with an in-depth analysis of the technological, economic, regulatory, and environmental aspects that are set to shape the cement industry over the next 10 years. Cement decarbonization technologies are evaluated, discussing the latest advancements, key players, and opportunities and barriers within each area. The report includes 10-year granular forecasts until 2035 for cement decarbonization technologies. Forty interview-based company profiles are contained, with coverage of over 200 start-ups and key players.

 

Key questions answered in this report:

 

To find out more about this report, including downloadable sample pages, please visit www.IDTechEx.com/Cement.

 

For the full portfolio of decarbonization market research available from IDTechEx, please see www.IDTechEx.com/Research/Energy.

 

Eve Pope, Technology Analyst at IDTechEx and author of this article, will be presenting a free-to-attend webinar on the topic on Friday 13 December 2024 - Building Towards Net-Zero: Which Technologies Can Decarbonize Cement?

 

This webinar will analyze regional, economic, and technological trends for decarbonization in the cement sector. Identification of promising investment areas will be enabled through discussion of technology benchmarking, opportunities, and barriers. Decarbonization potential will be explored, evaluating global cement sector progress towards net-zero targets.

 

This webinar will reveal insights into the cement decarbonization space, and its content includes:

 

We will be holding exactly the same webinar three times in one day. Please click here to register for the session most convenient for you.

 

If you are unable to make the date, please register anyway to receive the links to the on-demand recording (available for a limited time) and webinar slides as soon as they are available.

IDTechEx provides trusted independent research on emerging technologies and their markets. Since 1999, we have been helping our clients to understand new technologies, their supply chains, market requirements, opportunities and forecasts. For more information, contact research@IDTechEx.com or visit www.IDTechEx.com.