Cement and concrete is one of the world’s most polluting industries. How can we clean it up?
The World Economic Forum has a few tips.
The cement and concrete industries must think about new raw materials and energy sources, in an effort to move away from traditional carbon-intensive production processes.
According to the WEF, decarbonizing cement and concrete production is important, if the world is to achieve net zero targets by 2050, of 1.5°C.
The organization is challenging suppliers to think boldly, in terms of scale and technology; not just to reduce carbon emissions from existing processes, but reimagine the value chain, starting from cement production.
Clinker production is by far the most carbon-intensive stage in cement and concrete production, according to the WEF, contributing 88% of the sector’s current total CO2 emissions from the burning of fuels.
Cement producers in Ghana, committed to a decarbonisation and low-carbon cement path in 2022. They started to use local resources for raw materials and reducing the clinker factor.
Ghana spends over US$0.5bn annually on importing clinker, according to local Professor Dodoo.
The WEF has found a platform to connect suppliers of near-zero cement and concrete with demand players, and scale deeply decarbonizing technologies. The platform launched by First Movers Coalition (FMC), which is the world’s largest private sector demand signal for emerging climate technologies, call it “First Suppliers Hub.”
Suppliers and technologies meet at the Hub, to commit to meeting thresholds across high-emissions sectors by 2030, so far featuring over 80 decarbonization projects and displaying information on projects’ technology, maturity, geography, readiness date and current technology readiness level according to these companies’ disclosures.
30 projects in the cement and concrete industries is part of the platform.