Energy Efficiency, GHG Emissions, Industrial  -  February 16, 2023

CEMEX to Decarbonize Cement Production

CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. announced that the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $3.2 million to Solar MEAD which aims to decarbonize cement production.

Solar MEAD is a joint project headed by CEMEX, Sandia National Laboratories, and Synhelion and seeks to replace the use of fossil fuels with concentrated solar thermal (“CST”) energy in clinker production, the key component in cement. 

CEMEX and Synhelion have been collaborating to introduce CST in the cement production process, achieving the first successful laboratory-scale demonstrative pilot in 2022 by producing the first-ever solar clinker. 

Sandia Laboratories will contribute research facilities as part of the National Solar Thermal Test Facility, and subject matter expertise to help accelerate the adaptation of the technology to cement manufacturing.

"Cement produced with solar energy is an exciting technology with tremendous potential to reduce the carbon footprint of cement production," said Fernando A. González, CEO of CEMEX in a statement. "Achieving our net zero carbon goal by 2050 will require relentless innovation such as this to discover and scale breakthrough technologies."

The project will investigate methods to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, lower process temperatures, and increase the efficiency of clinker formation using solar energy. The team will assess the conditions to maximize heat transfer to the raw cement mix.

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