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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The European Environment Agency highlights how a more circular EU economy could significantly reduce environmental impacts and create economic opportunities, but only if policymakers address a substantial funding shortfall and accelerate market development for recycled materials. The European Environment Agency says a more circular EU economy could deliver sizeable cuts in emissions, pollution and biodiversity loss, but only if policymakers close a large financing gap and move faster to build markets for reused and recycled materials. In a series of briefings released this week, the agency said circular economy measures modelled across housing, food, mobility, mining and manufacturing could reduce…
Despite a 3.5% rise in global coal capacity in 2025, coal-fired electricity generation fell by 0.6%, revealing a nuanced shift in the world’s energy landscape driven by policy, growth in renewables, and strategic fossil fuel use in China and India. Global coal power capacity rose again in 2025 even as electricity generated from coal slipped, underscoring a widening disconnect between plant construction and actual fuel use. According to Global Energy Monitor, worldwide coal capacity increased by 3.5% last year, while coal-fired generation fell by 0.6%. The group said the split was most visible in China and India, where record additions…
Amid the slow progress of green hydrogen projects, geologic hydrogen offers a promising, low-cost frontier that could revolutionise industrial decarbonisation if proven viable at scale. For years, green hydrogen has been promoted as a way to cut emissions in sectors that are difficult to electrify, from steelmaking to industrial shipping. Yet the economics have remained stubbornly weak, and a 2025 study in Nature Energy tracking 190 projects found that only 7% of announced capacity was completed on schedule, underlining how far deployment has lagged behind ambition. That gap has renewed interest in a less familiar alternative: geologic hydrogen. Rather than…
As global demand for vital minerals soars, dominance by China and geopolitical tensions in Africa threaten supply security, prompting Western nations to seek new strategies for securing critical resources essential for a green future. The global race for critical minerals has moved from a niche industrial question to a central fault line in the energy transition. As governments, manufacturers and investors push to replace fossil fuels with electrified systems, minerals such as lithium, cobalt, copper, graphite and rare earths have become indispensable inputs for batteries, grids, wind turbines and digital infrastructure. The International Energy Agency’s 2025 Global Critical Minerals Outlook…
The Sustainable Concrete Buyers Alliance has issued a major request for proposals to secure multi-year contracts supporting the production of up to 250,000 tonnes of low-carbon cement annually from 2027, aiming to accelerate sector decarbonisation. The Sustainable Concrete Buyers Alliance has moved from market sounding to procurement, issuing a request for proposals to lock in multi-year offtake contracts that could support as much as 250,000 tonnes of low-carbon cement a year from 2027. According to RMI, the initiative is designed to give project developers and emerging producers the commercial visibility they need to back first-of-a-kind capacity in a sector responsible…
A new report highlights that while 74% of industrial companies consider digital ecosystems a strategic priority, only 27% are effectively sharing data, revealing a significant gap in readiness for connected, data-led operations essential for productivity and decarbonisation. AVEVA and IMD Business School are pressing a familiar point with new urgency: industrial firms are talking more seriously about digital ecosystems, but most are still not set up to use them properly. In the inaugural Industrial Intelligence Report on Digital Ecosystems and the Future of Connected Industries, unveiled at AVEVA World 2026 in Milan, the two organisations say the industry case for…
The Mineral Products Association intensifies pressure on the UK government to support the cement sector amidst rising energy costs, calling for stronger policies on carbon border adjustments and decarbonisation to prevent industry decline. The Mineral Products Association has stepped up pressure on the UK government to tackle the structural costs weighing on the cement industry, arguing that fresh support for other energy-intensive sectors has left British producers at a further disadvantage. The intervention comes as ministers prepare wider industrial policy measures and follows recent backing for the ceramics and chemicals industries. Cement, despite being among the most energy-hungry forms of…
As discussions on achieving net zero intensify, experts highlight the importance of overhauling the chemical and construction sectors’ reliance on fossil-derived carbon, with innovations in sustainable feedstocks and carbon storage extending the decarbonisation conversation beyond energy and power. Net zero discussions have largely focused on energy, but that is only part of the carbon story. A substantial share of fossil fuel use never ends up as combustion at all. Instead, it is turned into the materials that shape daily life: plastics, fertilisers, adhesives, solvents, synthetic fibres and building products. In industrial decarbonisation terms, that makes the “materials transition” just as…
Stellantis announces a strategic partnership with Accenture and NVIDIA to integrate AI and digital twin technology across its manufacturing network, aiming to optimise production, reduce waste, and enhance sustainability. Stellantis has outlined plans to deepen its use of artificial intelligence in manufacturing through a strategic partnership with Accenture and NVIDIA, in a move that could reshape how one of Europe’s biggest carmakers designs, runs and improves its global production network. According to the companies, the collaboration will focus on digital twin-based manufacturing systems that use real-time data, simulation and AI to create highly detailed virtual replicas of plants. The idea…
A $500 million loan from the World Bank aims to boost low-carbon industries in Brazil’s Northeast, fostering economic growth and clean energy transition in one of the country’s most underdeveloped regions. The World Bank has approved a US$500 million loan to help channel fresh investment into low-carbon industrial commodities, clean fuels and enabling infrastructure in Brazil’s Northeast, in a move designed to strengthen competitiveness while opening up new employment opportunities in one of the country’s least industrialised regions. The financing sits at the centre of a wider US$968 million package that also includes a US$30 million concessional loan from the…
