Holcim has invested in a low-carbon cement technology start-up to help expand its range of solutions aimed at decarbonising buildings at scale.
Sublime System’s technology is said to reinvent the full cement manufacturing process. It is based on a proprietary CO2-free electrochemical process that uses clean electricity and zero carbon raw materials to produce cement.
The company is currently building a commercial-scale manufacturing plant in Massachusetts, USA, with the capacity to produce 30,000 tonnes of cement per year as of 2026.
Holcim’s investment covers the production of this facility, as well grants the company a “large share” of Sublime Cement through a binding offtake reservation.
The two partners have established a dedicated project team to co-develop further facilities to scale up and commercialise Sublime Systems’ technology for swift market deployment.
The US Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) has also awarded funds to the company.
Nollaig Forrest, chief sustainability officer at Holcim, said: “The Sublime Systems team has developed a unique technology to decarbonise cement, cutting across the entire production process from the use of clean electricity to carbon-free raw materials.
“We are excited about this technology’s potential and are delighted to be partnering to bring it to market at scale. This investment advances our strategy to decarbonise construction by scaling up the most innovative technologies across our operations.”
Dr. Leah Ellis, chief executive and co-founder of Sublime Systems, added: “In the cement industry, scale is everything. We are proud to collaborate with Holcim who supports our mission of swift and massive impact. By pairing Sublime’s technology with Holcim’s advanced global operations from manufacturing and logistics to commercial distribution, we can scale up our impact together.”
Image credit: namtipStudio/Shutterstock
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