World’s Biggest Cement Producers Bet on Green Alternative
Holcim and CRH will invest $75 million in Sublime Systems, which developed a cement production method that in early tests generated 90% fewer emissions.
A worker uses a forklift to transport sacks of cement in Indonesia.
Photographer: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg
Two of the world’s biggest cement producers, Holcim AG and CRH PLC, are investing in a startup attempting to decarbonize the cement production process. Cement and concrete are responsible for about 8% of emissions, more than any other industrial sector.
Holcim and CRH on Tuesday announced a $75 million investment into Sublime Systems, including a promise to purchase green cement from the startup’s pilot facilities and to work with Sublime on additional plant sites. (CRH invested through its venture arm.) Somerville, Massachusetts-based Sublime has developed an electrochemical method of cement production that avoids the process of heating up limestone with kilns powered by fossil fuels.