Eduardo Gomez, Head of CRH Ventures explains why partnering with startups is key to the decarbonization revolution.
Opportunity Awaits: When Innovation and Expertise Combine
The importance of innovation and emerging technologies to drive progress in reducing carbon emissions, optimizing the use of resources and delivering process efficiencies has never been greater. While the adoption rate and impact of innovation is increasing, there remains huge scope for more transformative strategies as our industry responds to the changing needs of our customers and society.
At CRH, we are constantly innovating to improve processes and develop new technologies which can play a key role in the journey to net-zero. Our commitment to innovation, alongside those of other corporates and governments, is critical in order to accelerate and provide resources for large-scale change. We also recognize the increasing importance of working with industry startups whose challenger mindset can help us rethink, reimagine and reinvent systems, processes and technologies.
Scaling Viable Solutions
Our industry is rich in expertise and knowledge with a track record which demonstrates that sustainability and profitability can go hand in hand. We know that embedding innovation plays a very important role in converting challenges into value-creation opportunities. Innovation and ideas are coming from many different places – including within our own businesses, academia and startups – but the real challenge lies in converting those ideas and small-scale technologies into large scale economically viable solutions.
Combining the entrepreneurial spirit and determination shared by startups and those in our industry already addressing decarbonization, with the scale, weight and backing from the established industry players, is one of the most impactful ways to advance the development of viable sustainable solutions.
Balancing Opportunities and Challenges
Innovation in areas such as AI-driven material optimization, alternative cementitious materials, and novel production methods is now supporting the cement decarbonization journey. Capable of demonstrating real impact, startups in this space are attracting growing interest from institutional and strategic investors as their solutions offer the potential for long-term cost savings, enhanced performance, and a competitive edge in a rapidly evolving market.
However, the construction industry’s complex systems of standards and regulations can make for a challenging environment to deliver transformative ideas. Startups are known for their ingenuity and courage, often pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. They need assistance in navigating the complex industry landscape and in scaling solutions which require significant capital investment, regulatory approval and widespread adoption – substantial hurdles for small ventures.
At CRH, we believe we have an important role to play in accelerating the most promising innovations and technologies, whether through partnerships or funding. Accelerators and incubators focused on climate-tech also play a vital role in bridging the gap between early-stage innovation and large-scale implementation.
Startups Make Their Mark
Interest from Construction Technology (ConTech) startups willing to make our industry´s challenges their own is directly linked to the significant growth in funding from institutional and strategic investors. As a result, collaboration between those who own and operate the assets and those bringing forward new outside thinking to transform them is increasingly recognised as the most effective and efficient way forward.
At CRH we’re playing a leading role in embedding this way of working, partnering with startups on a range of technologies, material innovations and new processes designed to deliver a more sustainable built environment. For example, CRH has invested in AICrete – a company using AI to better predict recipe formulations for concrete and optimize the amount of cement used. Results from a pilot project indicate potential savings of 3.5% on material costs, and an average 5% reduction in carbon emissions.
Through a focus on resource efficiency and circularity, CRH is also working with partners to advance the development of new and novel materials, as well as the use of non-traditional materials, in the cement manufacturing process. Carbon Upcycling Technologies is able to transform local industrial by-products into high-performing supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) which can reduce the clinker factor and associated embodied carbon. The Canadian startup has used 30 different feedstocks in its process so far, including fly ash, glass, biomass, volcanic rocks, natural pozzolans, metal mine tailings, aggregate fines, silicates and clays. With the transformation process taking place in-situ at cement plants, there is the additional benefit of logistical environmental performance gains.
We are also seeing the commercialization of breakthrough technology which avoids both mineral and fossil fuel emission sources in the cement manufacturing process. Massachusetts-based Sublime Systems, for example, is at the forefront of developing an innovative electrochemical, near-ambient-temperature approach to cement production. This technology aims to replace traditional kiln processes and achieve a 90% reduction in cement’s CO2 emissions at full commercial scale. By utilizing calcium-rich minerals and industrial byproducts like slags and kiln dusts, Sublime Systems produces a material that is a novel alternative to traditional Portland cement.
For new and emerging technologies like these to realize their potential in accelerating the decarbonization of our industry, they must be encouraged and combined with the strategic advantages and expertise of the leading building materials companies.
The Path Forward: Collaboration and Commitment
The path to the decarbonization of our industry requires collaboration and a concerted effort from all stakeholders. Startups, established companies, investors, and policymakers must work together to drive innovation and investment.
While the backdrop to scaling new technologies and innovations which support industry and government decarbonization ambitions is complex and challenging, it also presents unparalleled opportunities. The key to success lies in driving forward innovative thinking and delivery, supported by strategic partnerships between industry leaders and startups which can ensure that promising technologies receive the funding, expertise, and market access needed to scale effectively.
CRH Ventures, CRH’s capital venture arm, is committed to fostering collaboration and investing strategically in ConTech and climate technology startups. Doing so means we can continue to develop new, cutting-edge mutually beneficial partnerships to accelerate decarbonization and enable safer, smarter and more sustainable construction.