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Electricity could produce cement with almost no carbon footprint
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1127339News Release 13-May-2026
Electricity could produce cement with almost no carbon footprint
Researchers drastically reduced the environmental impact of producing cement, a key part of concrete infrastructure
Peer-Reviewed Publication
American Chemical Society
As the world works to alter the trajectory of climate change, most attention focuses on reducing humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Yet a major source of carbon dioxide (CO₂) is cement production, which accounts for 8% of global CO₂ emissions. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Energy Letters have manufactured cement that lowers input energy demand by 70% and reduces CO₂ emissions by 98% compared with traditional production methods.
“Our team was motivated to address cement production emissions at the source,” says Curtis Berlinguette, the corresponding author of the study. “We used electricity and recycled cement to make precursors that formed a type of cement called belite at lower temperatures than were previously known. Belite-rich cement is important for massive structures like dams.”
Cement is an essential ingredient for making concrete a durable construction material, because when mixed with water, it strongly binds sand and gravel. And the starting material for cement is typically limestone. However, producing cement traditionally demands a great deal of energy as limestone (made of calcium carbonate, or CaCO₃) and silica-containing minerals are heated in two stages to more than 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit (1,450 degrees Celsius). These processes release significant amounts of CO₂ as a by-product when limestone breaks down.
Taking a different approach, Berlinguette and a research team at the University of British Columbia used electricity to lower the energy requirements of the chemical conversion of limestone and silica into a cement precursor. The electrochemistry approach allowed the reaction to take place at 140 F (60 C). The product of this reaction was then converted into belite in a kiln at 1,200 F (650 C). The lower temperatures of this new method reduced the thermal energy required by 70% as well as cut CO₂ emissions compared to the traditional processes.
…
Ren, S. et al. Electrochemical Synthesis of Calcium Silicate Hydrate for Low Carbon Cement. ACS Energy Lett. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenergylett.5c04150 (2026) doi:10.1021/acsenergylett.5c04150.Electricity could produce cement with almost no carbon footprint
Researchers drastically reduced the environmental impact of producing cement, a key part of concrete infrastructure
Peer-Reviewed Publication
American Chemical Society
As the world works to alter the trajectory of climate change, most attention focuses on reducing humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Yet a major source of carbon dioxide (CO₂) is cement production, which accounts for 8% of global CO₂ emissions. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Energy Letters have manufactured cement that lowers input energy demand by 70% and reduces CO₂ emissions by 98% compared with traditional production methods.
“Our team was motivated to address cement production emissions at the source,” says Curtis Berlinguette, the corresponding author of the study. “We used electricity and recycled cement to make precursors that formed a type of cement called belite at lower temperatures than were previously known. Belite-rich cement is important for massive structures like dams.”
Cement is an essential ingredient for making concrete a durable construction material, because when mixed with water, it strongly binds sand and gravel. And the starting material for cement is typically limestone. However, producing cement traditionally demands a great deal of energy as limestone (made of calcium carbonate, or CaCO₃) and silica-containing minerals are heated in two stages to more than 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit (1,450 degrees Celsius). These processes release significant amounts of CO₂ as a by-product when limestone breaks down.
Taking a different approach, Berlinguette and a research team at the University of British Columbia used electricity to lower the energy requirements of the chemical conversion of limestone and silica into a cement precursor. The electrochemistry approach allowed the reaction to take place at 140 F (60 C). The product of this reaction was then converted into belite in a kiln at 1,200 F (650 C). The lower temperatures of this new method reduced the thermal energy required by 70% as well as cut CO₂ emissions compared to the traditional processes.
…