Ecocem has officially opened its new Research and Innovation (R&I) Centre in France, marking a significant step in its mission to decarbonise the global cement and concrete industries.

The €10 million, 3,300m² facility represents a major investment in innovation and is central to Ecocem's strategy to deliver science-based, low-carbon cement solutions. It is designed to accelerate the development of technologies that use a wide range of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) and mineral additions to replace clinker, the carbon-intensive element in cement responsible for more than 90% of its emissions.

The centre will enable further decarbonisation of cement beyond the 70% already achievable with Ecocem's ACT technology, helping the company in its ambition to deliver net zero cement by 2040, ten years ahead of international climate targets—without relying on carbon capture.

Donal O'Riain, Founder and Global Managing Director of Ecocem, said: "For 25 years Ecocem has focused exclusively on low-carbon cement technologies. With ACT, our scalable low carbon cement technology close to commercial availability, the new centre will allow us to go further and faster. 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. 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."

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The new facility will be led by Roberta Alfani, heading a 30-strong in-house R&I team of engineers and technicians from over 10 nationalities. Their work will focus on developing low-carbon cements and technologies for mortars, concretes and wider building chemistry, while also collaborating with academics and industry partners to test and scale new solutions.

Commenting on the centre, Roberta said: "Our new Research and Innovation centre which focuses on the high-efficiency usage of a wide range of existing and new cementitious materials and the development of low carbon cements and technologies, is one of the most complete development laboratories in the global cement industry. It will accelerate our ability to develop a range of low carbon materials and work with academics and partners to test and trial new solutions. We look forward to working with the industry to accelerate adoption of a range of low carbon solutions."

The opening was attended by Niall Burgess, Ambassador of Ireland to France and Monaco, who said: "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. 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."