Draft:Ecocem

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Ecocem

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Ecocem is an Irish multinational that develops and manufactures low-carbon cement with the overall aim of reducing the amount of CO2 emissions produced by the cement and construction industries.

Ecocem operates four plants and two import terminals, these are located in Ireland, France, The UK and The Netherlands.^[1]. It is also currently permitting to construct a terminal and milling operations in the port of Los Angeles, California^[2].

The company’s headquarters are in EastPoint Business Park in Dublin, Ireland.   

At present, Ecocem sells its low-carbon cement technologies in nine different markets including France, Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, The UK, Belgium,Italy and Sweden.

To date, Ecocem’s low-carbon cement technologies have prevented the generation of 18 million tonnes of carbon^[3]. Ecocem does this by reducing the amount of clinker, the core active ingredient in cement which is responsible for 95% of cement’s CO2 emissions^[4], substituting it with alternative low-carbon reactive materials such as GGBS.

In late 2022, Ecocem unveiled its ACT technology (Advanced Cement Technology), a low-carbon cement technology^[5]. The technology is compatible with existing cement manufacturing plants and processes. ^[6]. Ecocem's ACT obtained a European Technical Assessment (ETA) in early 2024^[7].  

ACT combines a range of technical innovations to reduce the amount of clinker used in cement manufacturing, by substituting clinker with alternative Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs).

Worldwide, Ecocem currently employs over 220 people.

Ecocem was founded in 2000 by Irishman Donal O’Riain, who aimed to decarbonise the cement industry^[8], which is responsible for almost 8% of all global CO2 emissions^[9]. In 1969, O'Riain graduated from University College Dublin with a degree in Electrical Engineering and in 2014 was awarded the UCD Alumni Engineering Award in recognition of his achievements in carbon-neutral construction^[10]. His first job was as an engineer in ESB.

Prior to founding Ecocem, O’Riain ran his own consultancy business which specialised in cementitious materials and previously held senior management positions in KPMG, CRH plc^[11] and Steetley/Redland plc. After the company was formed in 2000, Ecocem built its first plant in The Netherlands in 2002 with a capacity of 350,000tpa^[12]. The following year, Ecocem opened a second plant in Dublin, Ireland^[13].

In 2007, Saint Gobain invested in Ecocem by purchasing a 30 per cent share^[14]. Ecocem then also formed a joint venture with ArcelorMittal to establish Ecocem France, which is managed by Ecocem.

The joint venture company went on to open its first French plant in 2009 co-located at a Arcelor Mittal site in Fos-sur-Mer, near the city of Marseille^[15].

In 2016 and 2017, Ecocem opened import terminals in the UK at Runcorn^[16] and Sheerness^[17]. The company also opened a second grinding plant at Dunkirk in France in April 2018, which serves both France and the United Kingdom^[18].

The following month in May 2018, it was also announced that ArcelorMittal would be increasing their stake in Ecocem France from 30% to 49%.^[19]

Since the creation of the joint venture nearly 20 years ago, Ecocem and ArcelorMittal have worked closely to improve the recovery of granulated blast furnace slag from ArcelorMittal’s steel mills and used it to produce low-carbon cement.

On the 7^th of May 2021, Ecocem announced the completion of a E22.5M equity investment by Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) and Breakthrough Energy Ventures Europe (BEV-E)^[20]. Breakthrough Energy Ventures is an investment fund founded by Bill Gates which finances companies that can tackle the five big challenges set out by Bill Gates in his book - “How to avoid a climate disaster”.

The deal saw Breakthrough Energy Ventures take a 10% stake in Ecocem.

Ecocem currently has three research laboratories, two of which are Lab Collaborations with University of Paris Saclay and another with Toulouse University. Ecocem’s Research and Innovation centre is headquartered in their Centre of Excellence for Research and Innovation in Champlan, France.  

Ecocem also funds six Postdoctorates, twelve PhD’s and two Masters Degrees at a number of academic institutions, including in:

• The University of Toronto
• University of Sao Paulo
• University College Dublin
• Paris-Saclay University
• University of Florence
• Technical University of Munich
• Missouri University of Science and Technology
• The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
• The University of Toulouse
• The Eindhoven University of Technology
• University of California, Davis^[21]

In 2024, Ecocem was named as an industry partner of Science Foundation Ireland^[22], the programme will support placement at Ecocem for a student from Atlantic Technological University to conduct research activities into optimising Ecocem's ACT technology for Irish concrete using Irish materials.

In November 2023, Ecocem hosted a symposium which convened fourteen leading materials scientists and engineers to test its ACT low-carbon cement technology. At the event, those in attendance signed a declaration, advocating for the adoption of materials science to deliver scalable low-carbon technology to the cement and concrete industries^[23].

ACT is a low-carbon cement technology that can decarbonise the production of cement by as much as 70%, while maintaining the necessary strength durability and workability required in any concrete it is used to manufacture. It does this by reducing the clinker content of cement. Clinker is the key reactive material in cement and concrete and is responsible for over 90% of emissions from the cement and the concrete it is used to make.^[24]

Reducing the amount of clinker in cement requires the substitution with alternative reactive materials also known as SCMs (Supplementary Cementitious Materials). These materials include calcined clays, natural pozzolans and various steel slags, by products of the steel manufacture process, and are widely available. ACT technology optimises the performance of SCMs and enables them to be used with more efficiency.^[25]

ACT is the result of almost a decade of innovation focused on developing scalable, low-carbon, competitive cement technologies. It has been subject to extensive technical validation and has been successfully demonstrated in industrial trials. Ecocem expects to make ACT available commercially in 2026, starting with the French Market.  

In February of 2024, it was announced that Ecocem had obtained a European Technical Assessment for ACT^[26].

Partners for trials and development include Cemex France^[27], Bouygues Construction^[28], Titan Group^[29] and CB Greene^[30]

Ecocem GGBS (Ground Granulated Blastfurnace Slag) is a supplementary cementitious material that increases the technical performance and reduces the environmental impact of the concrete and cement-based products it is used to make^[31].

Ecocem GGBS is made from a byproduct of steel production. It is manufactured in accordance with the EU Standard, EN 15167-1:2006 and blended with ordinary Portland cement (OPC) to create concrete with a lower carbon footprint^[32].

Ecocem GGBS has a third party verified Environmental Product Declaration of 42kg CO2 per tonne^[33].

Ecocem Ultra was developed by Ecocem in conjunction with VINCI Construction^[34].

Ecocem Ultra is an alkali activated binder that is intended for use in the preparation of concrete, mortar and other construction mixes and in the manufacture of construction products. It is characterised by high-resistance to chemical attack and low heat of hydration and ultra-low carbon footprint.

When Ecocem Ultra is used, 80KG of CO2 per tonne of cement is produced^[35].

Ecocem Ultra forms part of VINCI’s Ultra-Low Carbon Concrete range and is already being used on major projects across Europe including The Grand Paris Express^[36] Olympic Games 2024 in France^[37], and in EcoPark South^[38], the first phase in North London Waste Authority’s plans to create a sustainable waste management hub and energy recovery facility.

Ecocem Superfine is a ground blast furnace slag. It is designed to be used as a specific addition in binders, all dry mortar applications, high performance concrete (HPC) and precast concrete, to reduce carbon emissions. It can be combined with the use of traditional blast furnace ground slag.

Trials in Abu Dhabi have shown that Ecocem Superfine is a good substitute for silica fume^[39], it improves the performance of high-performance concrete by enhancing the rheology properties and maintaining performance criteria.

Ecocem Superfine has a carbon footprint of 32kg CO2 per tonne and has a verified Environmental Product Declaration.^[40]

Ecocem CEM VI cement is a low-carbon cement with characteristics similar to traditional cements used in the construction of buildings. It is composed of 33% ground blast furnace slag and limestone filler, Ecocem CEM VI cement offers a reduced carbon footprint for the production of concrete.

Its carbon footprint is 419 kg eq. CO2/tonne.

It is suitable for all exposure classes according to standard NF EN 206+A2/CN. CEM VI cement is a ternary cement made up of ground granulated blast furnace slag (CE), limestone filler and Portland cement (CE-NF)^[41].

Ecocem CEM III/A is a specially formulated blend of traditional cement and a minimum of 50% Ground Granulated Blastfurnace Slag (GGBS) that is EN 197-1 certified CEM III/A 42.5N cement.

Ecocem CEM III/A is suited to marine, agricultural, and chemically aggressive environments, as well as deep pour foundations such as wind farms^[42].

Since its incorporation in 2000, Ecocem's technologies have been used in a wide variety of construction projects throughout Europe, including a number of high-profile developments:  

Tottenham Hotspur Football Stadium started construction in 2019. Ecocem worked with Macrete to manufacture over 9,000 individual pieces of precast concrete. Ecocem worked in conjunction with Macrete to manufacture over 9,000 individual pieces of precast concrete. Ecocem GGBS was used at a 36% replacement level to the Cement greatly lowering the carbon footprint of the product.^[43]

The Olympic and Paralympic Village housed the athletes during the Paris 2024 Games.

On the 9^th of November 2021, it was announced that Ecocem would provide their low-carbon cement to the construction of the Athletes’ Village, Media Village and Center Porte de la Chapelle in France ahead of the Olympic Games taking place in 2024^[44].

In total, 13,326 tonnes of CO2 emissions were saved when compared to the use of CEM-I cement. 25,140 tonnes of Ecocem products were used^[45].

The Grand Paris Express is a project consisting of new rapid transit lines and the extension of existing lines being built in the Île-de-France region of France. The project comprises four new lines for the Paris Métro, plus extensions of existing lines.

On 9th November 2021, Ecocem announced that Ecocem Ultra would be used on a pilot site of the Grand Paris Express.^[46] 

High Speed 2 (HS2) is a high-speed railway which is under construction in England.

The route will be between Handsacre, in southern Staffordshire, and London, with a spur to Birmingham, Various low carbon Ecocem technologies are being employed throughout its construction. 

Ecocem GGBS was used in the construction phase of the HS2, saving approximately 161,162.80 tonnes of CO2 from being emitted^[47].

In the construction of The Aviva Stadium, Ireland’s national football and rugby stadium, Ecocem’s GGBS (Ground Granulated Blast Slag) was used, resulting in 4,000 tonnes of CO2 being saved from entering Earth’s atmosphere^[48].

The Convention Centre in Dublin, Ireland was opened in September 2010.

During construction of the Convention Centre, using Ecocem GGBS prevented over 10,500 tonnes of CO2 being produced. 70% Ecocem GGBS was specified for both the deep foundations and the basement of the centre. Ecocem GGBS was used to reduce permeability, increase durability, and reduce the likelihood of thermal cracking^[49] Hekla Tower, La Defense, France:  

Standing 220 meters tall, with 48 stories and 76,000 square meters of office space, the Tour Hekla is a skyscraper which stands in Puteaux, in the La Defense district of Greater Paris, in France.

A 1,500m3 invert was poured in September 2019 which included 50% Ecocem GGBS. ‍The tower’s foundation beams in C100 are made with concrete including 70% Ecocem ground slag.

The central core of the tower is engineered concrete with 40% Ecocem, pumped from the ground floor to a height of 200m. ‍The load bearing beams of the different levels are made with a concrete containing 50% Ecocem GGBS.

A reduction in 3,700 tonnes of CO2 was achieved by using Ecocem products for the construction of the Tour Hekla.^[50]

In 2006, construction began on The River Suir Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge over the River Suir in Waterford, Ireland. It was built as part of the N25 Waterford Bypass, and opened to traffic on 19 October 2009^[51]

The concrete piers of the River Suir Bridge were constructed using 50% Ecocem GGBS, with the specification of 50% Ecocem GGBS in the concrete.^[52]