I’ll state the obvious: carbon is a hot topic right now.
Portland Cement Association (PCA) Chairman Ron Henley (GCC America) told a New York Climate Week gathering that U.S. producers have exceeded expectations outlined nearly one year ago with release of the PCA Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality.
That is good news.
What is happening in the North American market is being driven by a global effort to reduce the carbon footprint of industry.
The U.S. Department of Energy has issued a four-step program to decarbonize the manufacturing sector. The plan focuses on cement, chemicals, oil, iron and steel, and food and beverages. Potential solutions for cement include circular economy approaches for concrete construction, new technology and chemicals, and supplementary cementitious materials. The plan has four overall strategies of electrification, efficiency, low carbon fuels and carbon capture.
President Biden announced additional actions for federal purchasing of low-carbon construction materials. The actions focus on concrete, asphalt, steel and glass. Details on how the programs will work will be provided by the federal Buy Clean Task Force. The U.S. Department of Transportation will have specific recommendations from its Embodied Carbon Work Group, including a recently announced Buy Clean policy. These efforts are all part of the Federal Buy Clean Initiative.
In related news, the General Services Administration announced it has an additional $3.4 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act to invest in low-carbon building materials per its low-carbon standards for concrete and asphalt that began last March.
And when Bill Gates gets involved, you know something big is going on.
Siam Cement Group has invested in Rondo Energy, joining decarbonization investment leaders Energy Impact Partners and Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Rondo and SCG will be collaborating under a letter of intent to develop and expand the use of Rondo’s Heat Battery technology.
The RHB can deliver deep decarbonization when applied across SCG’s lines of business including cement, chemicals, paper and packaging. Rondo and SCG plan to offer large-scale renewable solutions for industry across Southeast Asia and expand Rondo’s reach and ability to deliver systems at scale worldwide.
Stay tuned for ongoing information on carbon reduction. Big things are happening.
Mark S. Kuhar, editor
[email protected]
(330) 722‐4081
Twitter: @editormarkkuhar
