Hardware Podcasts

Fixing cement’s carbon problem

Catalyst · 17 Nov 2022 · 43m

What this episode covers

Leah Ellis, co-founder and CEO of Sublime Systems, explains how her company uses electrochemical processes to produce cement at room temperature, avoiding the high-temperature kilns and limestone decomposition that cause 8% of global emissions. Shayle Khan of Energy Impact Partners discusses the limitations of current decarbonization strategies, including supplementary cementitious materials like fly ash and post-combustion carbon capture, highlighting why they offer only incremental reductions. The conversation covers the technical properties of Portland cement, the centralized nature of cement production versus the distributed ready-mix market, and the economic argument that low-carbon cement's 'green premium' is negligible compared to total construction labor costs.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Sublime Systems, Energy Impact Partners, CarbonCure, Energy Hub

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