The first commercial use of Sublime Systems’ sustainable cement shows that it's possible to make it without emitting carbon dioxide.
A new building in downtown Boston has been constructed using a groundbreaking innovation in the cement industry. That is thanks to Sublime Systems, which has developed the world’s first cement manufacturing process that eliminates fossil fuel use - offering a promising solution to the cement industry’s significant carbon emissions problem. And it's a big problem.
Cement production, a cornerstone of modern construction, is a significant source of global carbon emissions. Traditional cement, made from Portland cement, accounts for roughly 8 percent of global carbon emissions - that's about four times more than the aviation industry.
Sublime Systems, founded in 2020 by Leah Ellis and Yet-Ming Chiang, has developed a process that replaces the need for the high-temperature firing process with electricity. The company’s pilot plant, located in Somerville, Massachusetts, has demonstrated that it is possible to make cement without emitting carbon dioxide. The company’s cement also meets all the same strength, durability, and performance standards as traditional Portland cement without relying on carbon capture and sequestration technologies.
Therefore, it is entirely appropriate that near the entrance of the building, a bronze plaque embedded in the concrete floor reads: “This floor is the first commercial use of Sublime Systems’ cement made with a fossil-fuel-free cement manufacturing process. A step on this floor is a step closer to our post-carbon future.”
Now Sublime is concentrating on getting the customers it needs to justify the next phase of its growth. Canary Media reports that the MIT spinout recently won an $87 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to build its first commercial-scale plant in Holyoke, Massachusetts, capable of producing tens of thousands of tons of cement per year.