How to tackle cement's massive CO2 problem, with Sublime Systems' Leah Ellis

Cement accounts for 8 percent of global CO2 emissions. The production of one ton of Portland cement — the kind most commonly used — results in one ton of CO2 released into the atmosphere. And since cement is exceptionally cheap and the most massively produced man-made material in the world, those emissions are going to grow. “In a do-nothing scenario, emissions from cement are projected to increase 50 percent between now and 2050,”  says Dr. Leah Ellis, co-founder and CEO of Sublime Systems.

Ellis’ company is producing low-carbon cement by replacing the traditional high-temperature, fossil fuel, combustion-driven kiln with an electrochemical approach that operates at ambient temperature and uses renewable electricity.

“I like to say Sublime is the electric vehicle of cement making.”

Covered in this episode:

• [3:18] How Ellis’ background in chemistry led to making carbon-free cement
• [5:51] Why defining cement by its performance is important
• [7:48] The basics of cement
• [9:29] The outrageous amount of cement produced annually
• [11:29] How Sublime Systems produces cement with fewer carbon emissions
• [18:06] The ability to compete economically
• [23:04] Scaling up Sublime’s operations
• [26:37 The leaky tap analogy to understand the climate crisis
• [29:53] A vision for the cement industry in 2035

For show notes and a full transcript, head to the episode page.

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