The complex path to market for low-carbon cement

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Oct 17, 2024

Leah Ellis, CEO and co-founder of Sublime Systems, delves into the challenges of introducing decarbonized cement to the construction industry, an essential but risk-averse sector. She discusses the complexities of aligning various stakeholders and how a book-and-claim system could facilitate adoption. The conversation also highlights the pivotal role of governments and major corporations in creating demand. With the booming data center industry, there's a unique opportunity for decarbonized construction materials to make a lasting impact on CO2 emissions.

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INSIGHT

Cement Industry Decarbonization

The cement industry is large and carbon-intensive, but essential.
It's slow to change, like the Titanic, but decarbonization efforts are gaining momentum.

INSIGHT

Global Cement Decarbonization

European cement producers face increasing carbon prices, driving faster decarbonization.
The US imports a lot of cement and has aging plants, presenting opportunities for new technologies.

ANECDOTE

Cement Value Chain

Sublime Systems' cement goes through a long value chain, from ready-mix producers to building owners.
Thin margins in construction make it hard to push a new, potentially premium-priced product.

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Getting the construction industry to try a novel form of cement is like turning a giant ship. It’s hard to redirect the immense momentum behind existing ways of doing business, especially involving cement, the most energy-intensive ingredient in concrete. Industry insiders point to tight margins, concerns about messing with the ingredients that literally hold up buildings, and the long list of stakeholders will agree to try a new material.

So how do you get a risk-averse construction supply chain to try decarbonized cement?

In this episode, Shayle talks to Leah Ellis, CEO and co-founder of Sublime Systems, a company that recently landed its first commercial deployment of decarbonized cement. (Shayle is an investor in Sublime). Shayle and Leah cover topics like:

The long list of parties involved in a single pour of concrete
Why the green premium is a burden for margin-squeezed contractors but “budget dust” for the building buyer
How to align stakeholders, once there's buy-in from financers
How a book-and-claim system could work for decarbonized cement
How major concrete consumers, like governments, can create demand
Why the boom in data center construction creates a window of opportunity for decarbonized construction materials

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