CEMEX invest in Carbon Upcycling Technologies
Company invests in technology that reduces carbon emissions in cement by up to 30%
CEMEX have announced that CEMEX Ventures, their corporate venture capital and open innovation unit, has invested in Carbon Upcycling Technologies, a Canadian start-up and global leader in the development of carbon utilization and grinding technologies for the cement industry.
Carbon Upcycling’s proprietary solution infuses carbon into a grinding process for industrial residues, such as fly ash and slag, to produce more reactive supplementary cementitious materials. These materials can then be used to replace clinker in cement production.
According to Carbon Upcycling, the blended cement and concretes resulting from this process can achieve CO2 reductions of up to 30%.
‘Our investment in Carbon Upcycling allows us to leverage the utilization of CO2 in building materials and transform industrial residue into sustainable building material resources,’ said Gonzalo Galindo, head of CEMEX Ventures.
‘This investment is another step in our roadmap to decarbonize the cement production process and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, as we continue to expand our green construction investment portfolio and look for new technologies to create a more sustainable industry.’
The production of clinker, the main component of cement, is the most carbon-intensive part of the cement manufacturing process. The addition of clinker substitutes without compromising the strength attributes of cement is a critical challenge to the industry’s decarbonization effort in the short term.
This latest investment will facilitate the continued development and scaling of Carbon Upcycling’s technology and business roadmap to reduce reliance on clinker in cement production. The investment will also fund the roll-out of their commercial carbon utilization solution across cement facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia.
CEMEX and Carbon Upcycling Technologies have worked together since 2020 as part of CEMEX’s Future in Action programme. The companies agreed to test and scale up the start-up’s technology in CEMEX’s R&D facilities and develop industrial-scale projects across cement and ready-mixed concrete operations.
‘We are grateful for CEMEX's continued support in our journey towards decarbonizing the cement industry,’ said Apoorv Sinha, chief executive officer of Carbon Upcycling Technologies. ‘We are well on our way to becoming the most impactful carbon utilization company of this decade and thrilled to have CEMEX and other investors on board with us.’
