The cement industry has been continually working on technical solutions not only to make its processes energy efficient, but to also allow the decarbonisation of clinker and cement. The ECRA Technology Papers summarise the different technologies and their impact on energy demand and CO₂ emissions. They show detailed operational costs as well as investment figures. They provide a unique set of documents which enable decision makers in their specific companies to outline their decarbonisation pathways and ultimately their roads towards net-zero CO₂.

The 2022 update of the ECRA Technology Papers was commissioned by the Mission Possible Partnership (MPP) and the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA). It represents the independent research efforts of the European Cement Research Academy (ECRA) to identify, describe and evaluate technologies which could contribute to increasing energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from global cement production today, and in the medium- and long-term future. They include emerging technologies which aim to achieve net-zero CO₂ in the production of clinker and cement.

As the transformation towards net-zero CO₂ is so enormous, it is clear that an ongoing exchange among all participants along the value chain is necessary. Different roadmaps have addressed policy tasks which comprise the need for a coherent framework of regulations and supportive actions. It will be this joint effort of the sector, policy makers and all stakeholders from the cement, concrete and construction industries, as well as the involvement of society, which will make the journey towards net-zero CO₂ possible.

This update of the ECRA Technology Papers is based on previous Technology Papers. Already in 2009 ECRA addressed all relevant technical measures to lower CO₂ emissions from cement manufacturing. Commissioned by the Cement Sustainable Initiative (CSI) of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the 2009 Technology Papers were the basis for the IEA’s Cement Technology Roadmap. In 2017 – again in a joint project with CSI – ECRA updated the Technology Papers to form a new basis for the Energy Technology Perspective (ETP) modelling project of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The current update takes into account recent and future developments which are important for the sector on its transition towards net-zero CO₂ by 2050. These include the role of supple-mentary cementitious materials such as calcined clays, the different technologies for capturing CO₂ at the cement plant, and ways to recarbonate hardened cement pastes to permanently bind CO₂.

ECRA would like to thank MPP for its excellent cooperation and its open and constructive discussions at all times. Great thanks are also owed to GCCA, its management team and its members for their valuable input and support, but even more so for the spirit which GCCA has created within the sector in order to deliver net-zero CO₂ concrete by 2050. Finally, ECRA would like to thank the team of VDZ for its enormous support based on a deep understanding of the cement and concrete value chain, which has made the compilation of these updated Technology Papers possible.