Heidelberg Materials UK has proven a zero concrete waste process at its Greenwich plant on the Thames, recovering aggregates for reuse and pairing concrete recycling with CarbonCure CO2-injection technology. Heidelberg Materials UK said it has proven a zero concrete waste process at its Greenwich plant on the River Thames, using…
Moët Hennessy and Verallia have launched a research partnership to develop lightweight glass bottles, cutting wine and spirits packaging weight by 30% to 50% to reduce the sector’s carbon footprint. Moët Hennessy, the wine and spirits division of LVMH, and Verallia, Europe’s largest producer of glass packaging for food and…
Swedish cement technology company Cemvision and precast concrete manufacturer S:t Eriks have signed a partnership to bring near-zero carbon concrete to the Nordic and Baltic construction markets by 2028. Swedish cement technology firm Cemvision and precast concrete manufacturer S:t Eriks have signed a joint sales agreement to develop and commercialise…
Bulgaria’s glass packaging industry has launched a national Close the Glass Loop platform to raise collection for glass recycling, aiming to help meet the EU’s 90% target by 2030. Bulgaria’s glass packaging value chain has united to launch a new national platform for glass collection and recycling, joining a Europe-wide…
Calgary-based Cura has closed a $10 million USD funding round to expand its electrochemical low-carbon cement pilot with Grand Forks Concrete, a step toward commercial-scale production in Alberta. Calgary-based cleantech company Cura has closed a $10 million USD ($14 million CAD) funding round on 17 September, its second tranche, to…
The Hydrogen Council’s latest Hydrogen Compass report puts the global low-carbon hydrogen pipeline at $130 billion and 6.9 million tonnes a year, with ammonia the leading offtake. The Hydrogen Council said in its latest annual Hydrogen Compass report that the global low-carbon hydrogen project pipeline has grown to $130 billion…
EU member states agreed to expand free ETS allowances for energy-intensive industries from 2026 to 2030, aiming to protect steel, cement and chemicals producers from carbon leakage. EU member states have agreed to expand free ETS allowances for energy-intensive industries between 2026 and 2030, a move the Council of the…
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CAC Engineering’s pilot plant in Freiberg, Germany has produced 300,000 litres of synthetic gasoline, showing its power-to-liquids process can run reliably over a sustained period. A pilot plant in Freiberg, Germany has produced 300,000 litres of synthetic gasoline, a threshold its developer says demonstrates that its power-to-liquids process can run reliably over a sustained period rather than only in short bursts. The facility, run by CAC Engineering at TU Bergakademie Freiberg, uses the company’s METHAFUEL technology to convert e-methanol into synthetic gasoline through the DeCarTrans research programme. Reaching 300,000 litres of cumulative output matters because continuous, reliable operation, rather than…
NEDO and four Japanese partners achieved 85% ammonia co-firing in a full-scale naphtha cracking furnace, a step towards decarbonising petrochemical production without a full plant redesign. A Japanese consortium has achieved an 85% ammonia co-firing rate across a full-scale naphtha cracking furnace, a milestone the group says clears one of the toughest technical barriers to decarbonising petrochemical production. NEDO, Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, ran the demonstration together with Mitsui Chemicals, Maruzen Petrochemical, Toyo Engineering and Sojitz Machinery, testing a furnace fitted with a newly developed ammonia-fired burner. The 85% figure covers the entire furnace on a…
Mission Possible Partnership has published guardrails for mass balance claims, aiming to help buyers judge which accounting systems for low-carbon steel, cement and chemicals deserve their trust. Mission Possible Partnership has published a framework for assessing mass balance claims, aiming to stop the accounting method used across steel, cement, chemicals, aluminium and aviation supply chains from undermining trust in low-emission products. The report, titled “Principles and Guardrails for Credible Mass Balance Claims”, sets out what MPP calls a due-diligence tool for buyers, producers and standard setters to judge whether a given mass balance system deserves confidence. Section 6 of the…
Kanin Energy raised $100 million from S2G Investments and Canada Growth Fund to expand waste heat recovery across cement, steel, refining and gas plants, cutting costs and emissions. Kanin Energy has raised $100 million in new equity to expand waste heat recovery projects across North American cement, steel, refining and gas facilities, the Calgary-based developer said on 17 September. S2G Investments led the round with a $50 million commitment, matched by a further $50 million from Canada Growth Fund. Kanin, founded in 2020, converts heat that would otherwise vent from industrial processes into electricity, and says up to 58% of…
ENEOS Holdings used AI catalyst discovery from Matlantis and NVIDIA to screen 100 million candidate materials for hydrogen electrolysis, cutting a years-long search to just months. ENEOS Holdings has used AI catalyst discovery to screen around 100 million candidate materials for hydrogen electrolysis, cutting a search that once took years down to a few months, Matlantis and NVIDIA said on 17 September. The Japanese energy group combined Matlantis PFP, a general-purpose machine learning interatomic potential, with NVIDIA ALCHEMI, an accelerated computing platform for chemistry and materials workloads. Together the two systems let ENEOS evaluate huge numbers of candidate structures for…
Aircapture and NGK have commissioned a direct air capture unit at AIZAWA Concrete’s Fukushima site, testing NGK ceramic substrates in commercial conditions and looking at concrete mineralisation as an outlet for the captured gas. Aircapture and NGK Corporation have started a joint direct air capture demonstration at AIZAWA Concrete Corporation’s…
Durham University researchers put the hydrogen storage potential of depleted North Sea oil and gas fields at 3,659 terawatt-hours, enough to take conventional gas power stations off the British grid by 2040. Depleted oil and gas fields in the North Sea could hold 3,659 terawatt-hours of hydrogen, more than seven…
Carbon capture developer Mantel has raised $18 million from Constellation Technology Ventures and Azimut Investments, taking total funding to $50 million as it moves molten borate capture into power, pulp and oil and gas projects. Mantel has raised $18 million from Constellation Technology Ventures, Azimut Investments and existing investors to…
Japan’s trade ministry has asked for JPY 1.26 trillion in its fiscal 2027 budget request for green transformation, more than double this year’s allocation, with electric arc furnace conversion and green steel procurement in the frame. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has requested JPY 1.26 trillion ($7.88 billion)…
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BMW’s Car2Car consortium has shown that additional sorting can strip copper from end-of-life vehicle scrap well enough to make flat steel for cars, with more than 100,000 series parts already built and installed. High-quality material loops are technically feasible in the automotive industry, and copper-bearing impurities in steel scrap can be reduced notably, BMW said after completing its Car2Car research project with partners, EUROMETAL reported on 27 August. The project focused on steel, aluminium and copper, and also considered other materials including glass. BMW’s consortium included Scholz Recycling, thyssenkrupp Steel Europe and Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung, alongside academic partners such as…
UNEP says copper demand will rise more than 40% by 2040 while mined output peaks around 2030, leaving a projected shortfall of 6.5 million tonnes within the next five years. Demand for copper will rise more than 40% by 2040 while mined production is expected to peak around 2030 and then flatten or decline, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. The projection appears in a UNEP article published on 27 August on securing the materials the energy transition needs. Copper carries electrification. Electric vehicles use up to four times as much of it as traditional combustion engines, and it…
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A US start-up develops a compact, modulable plasma-based system aiming to produce green ammonia at lower costs without relying on the traditional Haber-Bosch process, potentially transforming fertiliser manufacturing and supply chains. Faraday Earth is betting that ammonia can be made at industrially relevant cost without the century-old Haber-Bosch process, using a compact plasma reactor rather than giant centralised plants. The US-incorporated start-up, which has research and development operations in India, is developing a non-thermal plasma system that uses an electric field to activate nitrogen molecules so they can bond with hydrogen and form ammonia under near-ambient conditions. That matters because…
Advances in AI are transforming materials research, enabling faster development of sustainable alternatives across industries and becoming a strategic tool in the fight against climate change by 2026. Artificial intelligence is moving materials discovery from a slow, largely trial-and-error discipline towards a data-driven engineering workflow, and that shift matters directly for industrial decarbonisation. In sectors such as batteries, construction, packaging, semiconductors and hydrogen, the ability to identify lower-carbon alternatives faster can shorten development cycles, reduce waste and improve the odds of finding materials that are both technically viable and commercially scalable. The attraction is straightforward: conventional materials R&D can take…
Leaders gathering at the Caribbean Development Bank annual meeting warn that current global climate funding structures are ill-suited to support vulnerable island states facing escalating climate threats, urging reform and intensified investment. Climate finance leaders gathering in Nassau have warned that the international system remains badly misaligned with the needs of Caribbean and other vulnerable states, even as the region faces mounting exposure to storms, rising seas and energy insecurity. Speaking during a high-level dialogue at the Caribbean Development Bank’s 56th Annual Meeting, participants argued that small island developing states are still being asked to navigate a financing framework built…
China’s sharp reduction in crude oil imports and shifts towards electrification and coal-based chemicals point to a lasting change in its energy strategy, challenging traditional dependence on imported oil and reshaping global markets. China’s abrupt reduction in crude imports is looking less like a wartime anomaly than a sign of a structural shift in the world’s second-largest oil market. Imports fell sharply from 11.7 million barrels a day in February to just under 9 million by late May, before slipping to 7.8 million barrels a day in May, the lowest level since 2018. State refinery runs also dropped to 66.3%,…
Nigeria’s rural electrification agency is redefining solar mini-grids as a scalable business model to attract private investment, aiming to transform the country’s unreliable power supply and drive decarbonisation efforts. Nigeria’s rural electrification agency is presenting solar mini-grids as something more than a development tool: it is framing them as an investable power model that could help unlock private capital in a sector long weighed down by unreliable supply and heavy public subsidy. Abba Aliyu, managing director of the Rural Electrification Agency, said in Lagos on Friday that mini-grids are becoming increasingly attractive to investors as Nigeria looks for ways to…
Daimler Truck’s operational data reveals that battery-electric freight is already dependable in routine European logistics, highlighting the potential to accelerate industry decarbonisation despite infrastructure challenges. Battery-electric trucks are beginning to move from pilot status into routine industrial use in Europe, and Mercedes-Benz Trucks is using its own supply chain to make that case. In a new set of operational data, Daimler Truck says its electrified inbound logistics programme at the Wörth am Rhein plant now covers about 30% of incoming routes, with the broader production network running roughly 80 eActros vehicles in daily service and more than six million electric…
Amazon’s latest sustainability report highlights a 16% increase in absolute carbon emissions in 2025, driven by AI and data centre expansion, amid ongoing efforts to meet net zero targets by 2040. Amazon’s latest sustainability report shows the scale of the challenge facing hyperscale cloud and AI operators as they race to expand capacity without blowing through climate targets. The company said its absolute carbon emissions rose 16% in 2025 to about 80.9 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, a figure that now exceeds New Zealand’s 2024 territorial emissions of 77.8 million tonnes, according to figures cited by TechRadar Pro. Amazon linked…
Brussels approves a €2.5 billion investment from the EU’s Modernisation Fund to bolster 51 energy initiatives across 11 lower-income member states, aiming to enhance energy security, industrial competitiveness, and green transition. Brussels has approved a fresh €2.5 billion injection from the EU’s Modernisation Fund to back 51 energy projects across 11 lower-income member states, in a move designed to accelerate decarbonisation while strengthening the bloc’s industrial competitiveness and energy security. The European Commission and the European Investment Bank said the latest tranche is being financed from revenues generated by the EU Emissions Trading System, the bloc’s carbon market. Since the…
Xiaomi Auto has introduced Titan Alloy 2.0, a fully recycled aluminium alloy used in structural vehicle components, achieving significant carbon reduction and setting a new industry standard for sustainable materials in mass production. Xiaomi Auto has moved to industrialise a new recycled-aluminium alloy that it says could reshape the carbon profile of high-volume vehicle production, as Chinese manufacturers come under growing pressure to cut emissions across the supply chain. The company has launched Titan Alloy 2.0, a material made from 100% recycled aluminium and now being used in integrated die-cast rear underbody structures on its SU7 and YU7 models. Xiaomi…
Google’s latest environmental disclosure highlights advancements in operational efficiency amid rising AI infrastructure emissions, exposing the complex challenge of decarbonising its supply chains and managing the environmental impact of AI expansion. Google’s latest environmental disclosure shows a company still improving the efficiency of its own operations, even as the physical footprint of its AI expansion continues to grow. In its 11th annual environmental report, published on 30 June and signed by chief sustainability officer Kate Brandt, Google said operational emissions fell 2% in 2025, despite a 37% increase in electricity demand across its data centre estate. At the same time,…
