The Clinker Factor: Recent Episodes
World Cement Association
Cement production is responsible for approximately 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions and is possibly the hardest to abate sector.
In this podcast series, the World Cement Association’s CEO, Ian Riley, talks to industry leaders, experts and technological innovators from across the globe, bringing insights and fresh perspectives on how the cement sector can decarbonise and improve sustainability.
Suitable for anyone interested in climate change mitigation and industrial sustainability.
In this episode, Ian Riley speaks to Mirjam-Kim Rääbis, Product Developer at UP Catalyst, and Dr. Inger Lise Alsvik, Scientific Researcher at Saferock, about their organisation's most recent collaboration to start developing carbon negative concrete, the challenges of being a start-up, and the opportunities and advantages of working with national institutions.
In this episode, Ian Riley speaks to Dr. Gianluca Ambrosetti, CEO and Founder of Synhelion, about the challenges and opportunities of bringing solar fuels to market and the pioneering technology behind the development of solar clinker.
In the latest episode of the Clinker Factor, Ian Riley speaks to Hari Harikumar, VP & GM Advanced Carbon & Membranes of CHASM Advanced Materials and WCA Member about the development of the world's largest nanotube reactor and the potential application of nanotubes to cement and concrete.
In this episode, Ian Riley speaks to Fabien Charbonnel, CEO of WCA Corporate Member - Cem'In'Eu, about the changing requirements of his customers, the impact of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and the development of low carbon cement.
In our first podcast of 2023, Gurinder Nagra (Founder of Furno Materials) and Greg Houchins (Founder of Chement), join Ian Riley to discuss their ideas, the challenges of commercialising new cement technologies, and the advantages of working with the Breakthrough Energy Fellows.
In this episode, Ian Riley talks to Liz Gilligan, Founder of Material Evolution, about building a business based on currently unused sources of cementitious materials, the challenges of launching new products and Material Evolution’s journey as a tech start-up.
In this special Clinker Factor bonus episode, Ian Riley, WCA CEO and Amr Nader, CEO of A³&Co talk to Manon Burbidge, WCA, on the specificities of what's needed to decarbonise the cement industry in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, the first steps of a roadmap towards net zero that require minimum investment, and also WCA's annual conference, to be held 25-28th September in Dubai, UAE.
More information on the conference can be found at www.worldcementassociation.org.
In this episode, Ian Riley talks to David McNeil of Sustainable Fitch on the latest news and trends in the world of ESG investing, and the impacts these will have on the global cement and concrete industry. They cover carbon offsets, carbon markets, the expectations of ESG investors and dependence on thermal coal.
Greg Kats and Vivian Loftness of the Smart Surfaces Coalition join Ian Riley to discuss the role of concrete in the palette of smart surfaces that planners have available to reduce the risks of climate-induced heat waves and flooding in the world's cities.
In this special International Women's Day episode of the Clinker Factor podcast, Ian Riley talks to three women who are breaking the bias in the concrete industry - Nicole Campbell (Yorkton Concrete/Concrete Saskatchewan), Chen Yu (China Concrete Products Association) and Alana Guzzetta (US Concrete) - about their work, their experiences and their messages for women and girls looking to start a career in concrete.
Ryan Cialdella of Ozinga talks to Ian Riley all things low carbon concrete - from prices, using new products for projects, interest in blended products, supply chain cooperation, and challenges present and future for the industry.
Ian Riley and Manon Burbidge reflect on their time at COP26, discussing the outcomes of the conference, and what the cement and concrete industry can learn, including setting targets to 2030, adaptation and resilience, finance, climate justice and the need for deep collaboration.
In this episode, Ian talks to Herb Burton of US Concrete, on everything low carbon concrete, including appetite for the product, need for investment, standardisation, the role of the cement sector and transparency.
Ian Riley talks to Liran Akavia, COO of Seebo, about how AI can improve efficiency and lower carbon emissions in the cement industry. The discussion takes us from what process-based AI is, the benefits it can have for the industry's decarbonisation efforts, how to implement it and what producers could gain in terms of better quality, better profitability and better efficiency.
In this episode, Ian talks to Dr Paula Carey, a Founding Director of Carbon8 Systems, the owner of a technology which uses mineralisation and carbonation to treat industrial residues such as cement bypass dust, using CO2 captured directly from flue gas, to produce a lightweight aggregate product. Ian and Paula discuss the science behind this process, the increasing applications and relevance of the technology to the cement industry, and how it can help concrete to become carbon negative.
In the fourth and final episode of our Technology and Decarbonisation mini-series with KHD, Ian Riley and Matthias Mersmann discuss the future of the cement industry, and the technologies that will help us reach net-zero. CCUS, circular economy, intensifying cooperation, oxyfuels and increasing efficiency all feature on this exciting road to decarbonisation ahead.
In this episode, Ian Riley turns the tables on Thomas Armstrong (ICR), Peter Edwards (Global Cement) and David Bizley (World Cement) covering an array of topics from the holistic viewpoint afforded to editors of cement trade magazines. This fascinating episode discusses the effects of COVID-19 on the cement and media industries, the future of conferences, careers in the cement industry, exciting new technologies and changing attitudes towards sustainability and decarbonisation.
Join Ian Riley in this latest Clinker Factor podcast as he speaks to Chang-Ki Lee, Vice President of the Korea Cement Association. Key topics of discussion include the country's issues with overcapacity, the Korean industry's progress towards decarbonisation, and the price and demand for cement.
Amr Nadr, former VP for Strategy, Sustainability, and Risk at Yanbu Cement, Saudi Arabia, joins Ian in this episode to discuss cement sustainability in Saudi Arabia, the impacts of COVID on the cement industry, the importance of resilience, and Yanbu's new digitalisation transition programme.
In this podcast, Ian talks to Berkan Fidan, Performance and Process Director at Oyak Cement, about the company's new LC3 plant in Ivory Coast. They discuss the benefits of LC3, the project's logistics, how it was affected by the COVID pandemic, and the potential of using calcined clay for the reduction of the cement industry's CO2 emissions.
Rainer Nobis, a mining engineer, worked for thirty-five years in a globally active company in the cement industry. The desire to trace the history of the origins of cement and concrete for people who are interested in the two building materials prompted him to write this comprehensive book. More details on how to purchase Rainer's book can be found here: Illustrated History of Cement and Concrete | History Cement (history-cement.com).
In this International Women's Day special of the Clinker Factor podcast, Ian Riley talks to women from four WCA member companies about their careers in the industry, their perspectives on the sector's high level of gender imbalance, and offering a global perspective on what can be done to address this issue. Featuring: Manon Burbidge (Communications & Policy Coordinator, WCA) Alexis Breslin (VP Human Resources, Solidia Technologies, USA) Ma Jiaomei (Researcher and Engineer, Sinoma Tianjin, Sinoma International, China) Laurence Lamy (Head of Marketing, Cem'In'Eu, France) Nitika Sharma (Human Resources, JK Cement, India)
In Part 3 of our Technology and Decarbonisation mini-series with KHD, Matthias and Ian take a deep-dive into the technology behind using alternative fuels in the cement industry, including how to categorise alternative fuels, issues with NOx and contaminants, biogenetic materials and industry 4.0.
In Part 2 of our Technology and Decarbonisation mini-series with KHD, Matthias and Ian explore the development of more energy efficient grinding technologies and the increasing importance of tightly controlled particle size distribution in achieving improved cement performance and lower emissions.
Rob Niven, CEO of Canadian company "CarbonCure" joins Ian Riley in this podcast to discuss what start-ups in the cement and concrete industries can learn from technology company business models to drive the rapid uptake and scale-up of CO2 reduction innovations. They also discuss the possibility of carbon removal through concrete, as well as the policy and regulation needed to support the adoption of new technologies in this sector.
Mokate Ramafoko and Tony Hadley join Ian Riley to discuss sustainability issues in the African cement industry, including alternative fuels, LC3, overcapacity and recruitment.
Part 1 of 4 - Calciners: Our Technology & Decarbonisation mini-series, with KHD, will track the history of key technological advancements in the cement industry and how they are contributing to greater sustainability in the sector.
Join Ian Riley as he chats to Mahendra Singhi, the visionary CEO of Dalmia Cement, India, about his Grey to Green cement strategy, alternative fuels, the circular economy and more.
Listen in to hear about
- FLSmidth's Mission Zero
- Whether current technology could take us to 70% reductions in cement CO2 emissions
- The potential for recycled cements
- The future of the industry
Ian Riley discusses the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and its impacts on the European cement industry with Michael Mehling, Anne Dekeukelaere and Vincent Lefebvre.