As companies worldwide invest in decarbonisation efforts, this has been found to be easier in some industries than others. In hard-to-abate industries, such as steel and cement production, it has proved extremely difficult to reduce emissions. Meanwhile, the demand for these staple building materials is increasing in line with higher spending on infrastructure projects. So, what would it take to develop the “green cement” and “sustainable steel” industries?
In 2024, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released a commentary entitled “Collaboration on steel and cement standards is crucial for global markets.” The organisation said that, together, the steel and cement industries contribute almost 14 percent of global energy-related emissions. Most countries worldwide rely on steel imports and exports, with global steel sales in 2023 totalling $1.4 trillion. This demonstrates the need for the introduction of international standards, according to the IEA.
The agency emphasised the importance of establishing standards with clear methodologies for measuring emissions and definitions for which products are considered low or near-zero emissions, as well as the use of labelling or certification systems, to help improve the transparency around how building materials are produced and associated carbon emissions.
Some regions have already begun to explore the introduction of stricter standards on hard-to-abate sectors. For example, the European Union’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation is a preparatory study on iron and steel products whose results are expected to be used to establish a Delegated Act for iron and steel products within the framework of the Sustainable Products Regulation.
One of the IEA’s principal recommendations is to introduce standards that are “Globally comparable, even as they are used by different countries and stakeholders according to their own objectives.” This would increase “The coherence and reduce the reporting burden for producers and buyers operating across multiple jurisdictions, facilitates the trade of low- and near-zero emissions materials and products, and provides a common language for tracking market developments – sending a signal to global markets on the direction of travel and providing greater certainty for investments in new technologies.”
When it comes to cement, reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with production is no easy feat. Cement production requires temperatures above 1,400 degrees Celsius, with heat that is largely generated from fossil fuels. The heat is used to release carbon dioxide from limestone to make clinker, which is ground down to produce cement, meaning that around half of production emissions come from clinker output. Meanwhile, the demand for cement is increasing year on year, particularly in the Global South.
Despite the challenges to decarbonisation, a 2020 analysis by the venture capital firm 2150 showed that significant innovation was being seen in cement production. And when recently assessing the industry, 2150 found that over 60 companies were involved in low-carbon concrete, supported by higher levels of public and private funding. Several cement producers and users have now introduced net-zero targets, including the major production companies Holcim and Heidelberg Materials.
On the demand side, making changes such as extending the life of buildings, reusing concrete, and smarter design could cut emissions by as much as 22 percent. Meanwhile, companies such as Heimdal and SeaChange hope to use carbon-negative limestone created from the CO2 in seawater to reduce emissions, while the firms Rondo and Antora are looking into thermal energy storage to increase renewable energy use in cement production. Successfully cutting the industry’s carbon emissions is expected to require a range of actions, including switching from fossil fuels to renewable alternatives for power and heat and incorporating carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies into operations.
Meanwhile, making steel production more sustainable is complicated, but several companies have already made progress in the field. In the past half a century, the shift from traditional blast furnaces to electric arc furnaces has reduced energy use in steel production by an estimated 60 percent. Higher renewable energy use, the incorporation of CCS technologies, and greater digitalisation could help further improve efficiency and reduce emissions in the coming years.
The good news is that there is greater interest from consumers in purchasing cleaner cement and steel. In August, the cement startups Sublime Systems and Brimstone both announced new partnerships with data centre companies with the aim of decarbonising cement production operations. This gave the two companies a much-needed economic boost, following recent U.S. federal funding cuts across a range of green energy and cleantech sectors.
Sublime conducted a “pilot pour” of its fossil-fuel-free cement at a Stack Infrastructure data centre in Virginia in August as part of a demonstration project. The company makes its cement more sustainable by electrically charging a bath of chemicals and calcium silicate rocks. Meanwhile, Brimstone uses carbon-free rocks instead of limestone, which it then pulverises before adding chemicals to leach out valuable minerals. Some of the compounds produced are heated in a rotary kiln to make industry-standard cement. Brimstone’s agreement is with Amazon, which reserved future supplies of Brimstone’s sustainable cement as part of the deal.
By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com