Paving the way for commercialisation of green cement: Policy learnings from Ecocem’s ACT deployment
Cement is essential to Europe’s built environment, but its production is highly carbon-intensive and the sector has historically been slow to adopt alternative technologies. Ecocem is an independent developer of low carbon cement technologies with over 25 years of experience supplying major European infrastructure projects – including the Paris Olympic venues,[1] Grand Paris Express and Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.[2]
Ecocem’s breakthrough initiative is Advanced Cement Technology (ACT).[3] Moving from pilot validation to early commercial deployment (TRL7), ACT has been supplied to 30 demonstration projects in Western Europe commencing mid-2024.[4]Ecocem broke ground on its first commercial-scale ACT manufacturing facility in Dunkirk, France, in early 2025, with market delivery on track for 2027.[5]
The key challenge: market inertia and prescriptive regulatory barriers
Cement manufacturing has remained largely unchanged for two centuries, creating deep-rooted technical, regulatory and financial barriers for low carbon alternatives. First, regulatory frameworks are rigid and not in line with operational realities. Traditional standards (such as the legacy EN 197 cement norms) historically mandated strict chemical recipes focused on high clinker content rather than evaluating material performance, strength and durability. This prescriptive approach created a severe regulatory bottleneck that locked out innovative formulations.
Second, carbon capture and storage (CCS) plays a dominant role in industry roadmaps at the risk of overshadowing other approaches. Although there is a clear role for CCS in scientifically backed decarbonisation pathways, it cannot be the only solution to multilayered sustainability challenges. While there has been technological progress in the space, CCS can still be capital-intensive, slow to deploy, and potentially enhance costs for end-users, creating a steep ‘green premium’.[6]
Further, supply constraints for conventional alternative binders represent a key barrier to scaling. The market requires a solution that can scale rapidly, achieve cost parity, and use abundant local materials without requiring disruptive changes to jobsite practices or kiln infrastructure.
The solution: scalable clinker substitution without a green premium
ACT solves this specific challenge by reducing clinker content to below 30 per cent by replacing the majority of clinker with abundantly available, low carbon materials such as limestone and supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). According to Ecocem’s estimate, this cuts carbon intensity from roughly 600 kg to approximately 200 kg – a significant emissions reduction.[7]
Crucially, ACT functions as a drop-in solution that integrates seamlessly into existing construction practices, equipment and supply chains. By using readily available minerals and eliminating the green premium, it delivers high performance and durability at cost parity with conventional cement, unlocking rapid commercial adoption. It secured a European Technical Assessment (ETA) in 2023[8] and North American ASTM C1157 certification in 2025.[9]
Having authoritative certifications allowed it to be deployed for major projects such as the construction of the Athletes’ Village for Summer 2024. Securing a major public procurement contract allowed it to establish its market and hasten its technology readiness level. Since then, its market share has grown and it is now being used for all concrete-based elements in major construction projects.[10] This demonstrates how policy instruments such as rational standards and instrumentalisation of public procurement can bolster early-stage innovations.
Collaboration across the value chain
Scaling a disruptive material requires tight integration across the entire construction and manufacturing ecosystem. Ecocem relies on real-world demonstrations. Over 30 demonstration projects have been deployed across Western Europe. At the iconic Wembley Park site in London, an Innovate UK-funded demonstrator led by contractor Sisk brought together Ramboll, Loughborough University, Creagh Concrete, Capital Concrete, Quintain and the BRE Group. The two-storey project applied ACT across multiple structural elements (foundations, columns and slabs), confirming full compliance with design specifications.
Ecocem actively partnered with innovative and forward-looking Tier 1 contractors such as Bouygues Construction, Vinci Construction and Eiffage.[11] They also actively collaborated to secure the upstream supply chain. For the Dunkirk ACT manufacturing facility, raw material security was established through long-term industrial partnerships: blast furnace slag from ArcelorMittal, ground clinker from established suppliers and a dedicated joint venture with CB Green (Group CB).
In late 2024, Ecocem partnered with Titan Group to license ACT across Greece, Central Europe and North America using natural pozzolanic materials while actively collaborating to revise Greek concrete standards. Additional licensing opportunities are underway in high-growth markets like India and Africa, where ACT can triple cement output per kiln with minimal capital expenditure.
Policy recommendations
Ecocem’s development and deployment of ACT demonstrates that industrial decarbonisation and economic competitiveness are mutually reinforcing goals.[12] However, commercialising deep-tech industrial alternatives requires an enabling policy architecture that bridges the gap between technical readiness and mainstream adoption, and to shape Europe’s industrial framework, particularly the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), in a way which fosters competitive, scalable clean manufacturing. The following are the key policy learnings across CLG Europe’s key priority areas based on Ecocem’s case:
- Move from composition-based to performance-based standards: Policymakers must accelerate the modernisation of standards (such as EN 197 and local concrete norms) to evaluate products based on performance, durability and lifecycle carbon emissions rather than legacy chemical recipes. Swiftly incorporating European Technical Assessments (ETAs) into standard compliance pathways will give low carbon developers the regulatory certainty required for long-term investment.
- Elevate public procurement targets for low carbon materials: While the proposed 5 per cent low carbon concrete mandate in the IAA establishes an initial signal, it is notably low compared to other thresholds.[13] European public authorities should implement progressively higher low carbon procurement thresholds. Using public purchasing power creates dependable lead markets and de-risks private investments across the supply chain.
- Establish integrated raw material and circular SCM infrastructure hubs: Governments should facilitate regional industrial symbiosis by streamlining permitting for processing facilities and supporting supply chains that handle secondary raw materials and alternative minerals (such as industrial slag and locally sourced limestone). Circular initiatives can act as an accelerant for industrial competitiveness and decarbonisation.
- Harmonise international codes and facilitate cross-border technology licensing: European authorities should actively co-ordinate with international standard-setting bodies and trusted trading partners to harmonise performance certifications. This enables proven European technologies to be licensed globally, mitigating regional supply bottlenecks while exporting decarbonisation solutions to high-growth emerging economies.
Key policy takeaway
Industrial decarbonisation does not have to wait for high-cost, long-horizon solutions. By modernising prescriptive building codes into performance-based standards, improving public procurement mandates, and supporting immediately deployable clinker-reduction technologies with zero green premium, Europe can rapidly scale near-term emissions cuts and circular solutions while solidifying its global leadership in clean manufacturing.
[1] “Olympic Village,” Ecocem, accessed September 29, 2026, https://www.ecocemglobal.com/project/olympic_village/.
[2] “Ecocem – The future. Remixed,” Ecocem, accessed September 29, 2026, https://www.ecocemglobal.com/.
[3] “Introducing ACT,” Ecocem, accessed September 29, 2026, https://www.ecocemglobal.com/act/.
[4] “Ecocem,” Build Clean Now, accessed September 29, 2026, https://buildcleannow.missionpossiblepartnership.org/bright-spot/ecocem/; “Scalable Low Carbon Demonstrator Project,” UK Research and Innovation, accessed September 29, 2026, https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=10118018; “Sisk and consortium finalises scalable low-carbon concrete demonstrator,” Sisk, accessed February 16, 2026, https://sisk.com/news/sisk-and-consortium-finalises-scalable-low-carbon-concrete-demonstrator.
[5] “Ecocem Announces the First Commercial Low-Carbon Cement Production Unit for ACT Technology at its Dunkirk manufacturing facility,” Ecocem, January 28, 2025,
[6] “Ecocem,” Build Clean Now, accessed September 29, 2026, https://buildcleannow.missionpossiblepartnership.org/bright-spot/ecocem/
[7] Ecocem’s estimation from various projects puts the estimate up to 70 per cent, though performance can vary due to project-specific factors: “Ecocem Demonstrates up to 60% Carbon Reduction in U.S. Cement Manufacturing with ACT Technology,” Ecocem, October 29, 2025, https://www.ecocemglobal.com/en-gb/ecocem-demonstrates-up-to-60-carbon-reduction-in-u-s-cement-manufacturing-with-act-technology/.
[8] “New European Assessment Document is a significant step forward for Ecocem’s breakthrough ACT technology,” Ecocem, December 16, 2025, https://www.ecocemglobal.com/new-european-assessment-document-is-a-significant-step-forward-for-ecocems-breakthrough-act-technology/.
[9] “Ecocem Achieves ASTM C1157 Certification, Signaling U.S. Market Readiness for Breakthrough Low-Carbon Cement,” GlobeNewswire, August 12, 2025, https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/08/12/3131652/0/en/ecocem-achieves-astm-c1157-certification-signaling-u-s-market-readiness-for-breakthrough-low-carbon-cement.html.
[10] “The World's First Full-Scale Residential Development Built with Ecocem ACT,” Ecocem, accessed September 29, 2026, https://www.ecocemglobal.com/the-worlds-first-full-scale-residential-development-using-ecocem-act/.
[11] “Bouygues Construction and Ecocem announce a global partnership to reduce the construction industry’s carbon impact using ACT, Ecocem’s scalable low-carbon technology,” Ecocem, January 16, 2025, https://www.ecocemglobal.com/en-us/bouygues-construction-and-ecocem-announce-a-global-partnership-low-carbon-cement/.
[12] Donal O’Riain, “How Europe can turn cement into a quick win for climate,” Reuters, February 16, 2026, https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/how-europe-can-turn-cement-into-quick-win-climate--ecmii-2026-02-16/.
[13] “Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA),” Carbon Gap, last updated March 19, 2026, https://tracker.carbongap.org/policy/industrial-accelerator-act/.