Low carbon cement technologies provider Ecocem has opened its new Research and Innovation (R&I) centre in France.
Ecocem said the centre represents a significant investment in innovation and will play a key role in its strategy to deliver decarbonisation solutions to the cement and concrete industries.
Costing over €10m, the new facility reinforces Ecocem's focus on developing and delivering low carbon cement technologies capable of using alternative SCMs (supplementary cementitious materials) and mineral additions to replace clinker, the carbon-intensive component in cement which is responsible for over 90% of its emissions.
Donal O'Riain, founder and Global Managing Director of Ecocem, said the company has focused exclusively on low-carbon cement technologies for the last 25 years.
"With ACT, our scalable low carbon cement technology close to commercial availability, the new centre will allow us to go further and faster," he said.
"We will build on the 18 million tonnes of CO₂ reductions already achieved and accelerate the development of solutions that can deliver net zero cement by 2040, 10 years ahead of schedule," he said.
"What is needed now is widespread adoption available low carbon cement technologies by the cement industry of which will allow it to become the first industrial sector to achieve a 1.5c decarbonisation trajectory," he added.
The new centre was officially unveiled by Niall Burgess, Ambassador of Ireland to France and Monaco.
"Ecocem represents the best of Franco-Irish companies and is a symbol of industrial collaboration between our two countries, as a company born in Ireland and now deeply rooted in France, its largest market," the Ambassador said.
"An industrial pioneer, Ecocem have demonstrated long-term commitment to scaling low-carbon innovation, all the while illustrating Franco-Irish closeness, essential for a strong, more innovative and greener Europe," he added.
The centre also marks the latest chapter in Ecocem's wider investment in innovation. Over the past decade, the company has committed €70M to research, development, and new facilities, ensuring its solutions can scale across global markets.
The new facility follows other recent milestones for the company, including regulatory approvals in France, a new production plant in Dunkirk, a further €170m investment to construct four new ACT production lines in France by 2030, industry certification in the US and partnerships with construction firms such as Bouygues Construction, Vinci Construction and the Titan Group.
