Dear Readers,
Welcome to 6th issue of 2026, which gathers global industry updates, original research papers and comprehensive review centred on low-carbon innovation and sustainable advancement within the cement sector.
The Spotlight section delivers global industry news covering conferences, plan...
In July, the Technical University of Munich and the American Concrete Institute (ACI) hosted a week-long conference featuring leading international experts on the topics of concrete admixtures, cement/binders, and sustainable construction. The nearly 300 participants from 35 countries were treated ...
Photo: Airvault cement plant (Source: Heidelberg Materials)
Heidelberg Materials France has commissioned a state-of-the-art kiln line at its Airvault cement plant. It replaces two semi-dry process clinker lines with a modern pre-calciner system with an annual capacity of 1.25 million tons. This...
Photo: Readymix concrete plant (Credits CEMEX UK)
Cemex has been awarded the ‘Water Stewardship Programme of the Year’, at the 2026 Global Water Awards, recognising its initiative to reduce freshwater use in concrete production in Mexico. Cemex reported a 67% freshwater substitution ...
Photo: Xeuilley cement plant (Credit Vicat France)
The Vicat Group accelerates industrial decarbonisation in France with two alternative energy projects at two of its cement plants, supported by the French Ecological Transition Agency (ADEME) and industrial partners. At the Xeuilley plant, where ...
Photo: Illustration of a green cement production plant (Credit: Cemvision)
Sweden’s Cemvision and Siemens AB have signed a strategic partnership to develop and scale near-zero-carbon cement production facilities. Cemvision has created technology capable of reducing emissions by up to 95% ...
Photo: Sanghi Cement Plant (Credit: Ambuja Cements)
Ambuja Cements, which is the cement part of the Adani Group, has partnered with UK-based clean technology company Leilac Limited to develop a commercial-scale low-carbon cement pathway. The companies announced they will jointly undertake a...
Photo: Protex manufacturing facility (Credit: Procrete Argentina)
Cementos Avellaneda, which is a company jointly owned by Molins and Votorantim Cimentos, has acquired a 70% majority stake in construction products company Prokrete Argentina. The company’s Protex brand covers a wide spectrum ...
Photo: Cement plant in Brocēni (Credit SCHWENK Latvia)
The CCS project by SCHWENK Latvija is supported by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvija (LIAA). As part of the project, SCHWENK Latvija plans to install a carbon capture and storage system to reduce CO2 emissions of the...
Photo: Redding manufacturing plant in California (Credit: Fortera)
Compared to the traditional clinker–cement process, the ReCarb® cement process by Fortera in their Redding plant (photo) in California, USA, is simpler, uses less raw materials and a kiln temperature of only 950°...
More than 800 kg of CO2 are released during the production of one ton of pure Portland cement [1]. In line with global climate targets, the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) committed to fully decarbonise the cement and concrete industry and provide net zero concrete for the world by...
Photo: A recent report on the overall situation of gypsum resources in Lower Saxony warns of growing supply risks for the construction and gypsum industries. Credit: St-Gobain Rigips
The Bundesverband der Gipsindustrie e.V. (BV Gips) sees growing risks for the future supply of gypsum raw...
First CCS system at the Brevik cement plant
Summary
Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) is seen as an essential breakthrough technology for achieving a net-zero (or carbon neutral) cement and concrete production by 2050. But this is controversial because of the high costs of such system...
Red mud (RM) is a solid waste, considered a hazardous waste due to its high pH and heavy metals concentration. Therefore, this study investigates the potential use of co-calcined red mud and kaolin clay as a pozzolanic material and further comparison with fly ash, RM and calcined RM. The resulting...
As a solid waste, the large-scale accumulation of copper slag has posed serious environmental risks. Its current use has mainly been limited to low-reactivity supplementary cementitious material or inert aggregate in concrete, so that its chemical potential remains underutilized. In this study, high...
Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) is widely recognized as a low-carbon alternative to Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC); however, its hydration mechanisms have been addressed in a fragmented and scattered manner in the literature. This review aims to bridge this gap by demonstrating, through...
Cement-based materials, as heterogeneous, porous, and brittle composites, face the challenge of balancing strength and toughness during performance optimization. This study proposes an in-situ copolymerization of the hydrophilic rigid monomer sodium styrene sulfonate (SSS) with acrylamide (AM),...
Low-clinker cement offers significant potential for carbon reduction but is often limited by insufficient alkalinity and compromised durability. Hydrated lime, as an effective alkalinity regulator and supplementary calcium source, shows promise in mitigating these limitations, but its systematic ...
To enable efficient utilization of low-grade magnesite and reduce the production cost of magnesium phosphate cement (MPC), this study developed a low-temperature sintering process (1100–1250°C) to prepare MPC clinker from a Mg(OH)2–Al2O3–CaCO3 ternary system. Based on phase diagram analysis, the raw...
