Ecocem is a pioneer of high-performance technology that significantly reduces CO2 emissions in the cement and construction industries. As part of a consortium consisting of leading academic and industrial actors in Europe, Ecocem’s project was awarded EUR 4 million in research funding from the European Innovation Council (EIC). The grant is part of the EIC Pathfinder Challenge 2024 and will support work which aims to optimise the environmental compatibility of Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) slag for low-carbon cement.
Ecocem: reducing carbon footprint of the cement manufacturing process
Currently the waste (slag) produced from existing steel blast furnaces is used to produce alternative materials for low carbon cement manufacture. As the steel sector shifts from blast furnaces to EAFs in an effort to decarbonise its own processes, the nature of the waste material produced as part of the steel manufacturing process will change.
As a pioneer in the optimisation of slags for use as cementitious materials, Ecocem’s new research will aim to optimise EAF slag reactivity. Ultimately, the goal is to make EAF slag work more effectively as a supplementary cementitious material without compromising the durability of the cement it is used to make, thereby transforming landfill-bound waste material into a valuable contributor to cement decarbonisation.
Decarbonising the cement industry through collaboration
According to Eoin Condren, Ecocem’s Corporate Development Executive Director, this grant confirms Ecocem’s position at the forefront of sustainable innovation in the cement industry. For twenty-five years the company has been pioneering and commercialising the use of a range of slags and cementitious materials to create scalable and durable low-carbon cement. Thanks to the EIC Pathfinder grant, Ecocem will continue its groundbreaking work to develop a viable use for waste streams from steel industry as the industry transitions to new manufacturing processes.
This award highlights the importance of collaboration between scientists, industry players, innovators and public bodies, to significantly accelerate the development, scaling and adoption of low-carbon technologies.
Spinverse supported the project proposal’s submission process
Ecocem already had a strong relationship with Spinverse based on earlier collaboration and when the EIC Pathfinder funding was identified as being a good opportunity to advance research into an alternative slag, Ecocem also appointed Spinverse to provide project management support.
Spinverse provided the project consortium with a full proposal preparation service from project concepting, consortium building, proposal writing and management to quality check.
Reflecting on the collaboration, Eoin Condren said: “The Spinverse team provided an expert guiding hand for us throughout the process, not only keeping us on track in terms of timing but also ensuring we hit the right tone at the right moments throughout the application. Whilst we and our consortium partners know our subjects better than most, Spinverse was able to draw out the most relevant aspects to give us the best chance of success, and all done in a friendly and collaborative manner. We look forward to working with them again in the future.”
The project, submitted to the Pathfinder Challenge 2 call, “Towards Cement and Concrete as a Carbon Sink”, was one of just 31 winners out of 401 submissions to EIC Pathfinder.
The project consortium will be led by Ecocem’s award-winning scientist Simon Blotevogel. The project brings together ArcelorMittal, the University of Toulouse, the FehS Building Materials Institute, the CNRS – Géosciences Environnement Toulouse, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and the ETH Zurich. The programme will run for the next four years, with testing taking place in Paris in partnership with ArcelorMittal.
The EIC Pathfinder Challenges are funded by Horizon Europe, the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation. The fund is designed to tackle climate change, support progress towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and boost the EU’s competitiveness and growth.
Photo credit: Ecocem
More information: Ecocem website