Holcim, as sustainable building solutions provider, has made a strategic investment in Sublime Systems, a low-carbon cement technology startup, to enhance its portfolio of engineered solutions aimed at decarbonising construction on a large scale. This partnership will support the establishment of Sublime’s first commercial manufacturing facility in Massachusetts, USA, allowing Holcim to secure a significant portion of the Sublime Cement produced there through a binding offtake agreement. The two companies have also formed a dedicated project team to jointly develop additional facilities to scale and commercialise Sublime’s technology for rapid market deployment.
Nollaig Forrest, Chief Sustainability Officer, Holcim said, “The Sublime Systems team has developed a unique technology to decarbonise cement, cutting across the entire production process from the use of clean electricity to carbon-free raw materials. We are excited about this technology’s potential and are delighted to be partnering to bring it to market at scale. This investment advances our strategy to decarbonise construction by scaling up the most innovative technologies across our operations.”
Dr. Leah Ellis, CEO and Co-Founder, Sublime Systems said, “In the cement industry, scale is everything. We are proud to collaborate with Holcim who supports our mission of swift and massive impact. By pairing Sublime’s technology with Holcim’s advanced global operations from manufacturing and logistics to commercial distribution, we can scale up our impact together.”
Sublime Systems’ technology transforms the entire cement manufacturing process. Utilising a proprietary CO2-free electrochemical system, it relies on clean electricity and carbon-free raw materials. Following successful initial market applications, Sublime is constructing a commercial-scale manufacturing plant that will produce 30,000 tons of cement annually by 2026. Holcim’s investment complements a recent award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED).
Holcim boasts an extensive array of decarbonisation technologies in its industry, working towards its 2030 and 2050 net-zero targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. Its portfolio includes innovative low-emission materials like calcined clay and decarbonised cement paste made from recycled construction materials, along with decarbonised energy, with 12 sites operating at over 80% alternative fuels. The company is also developing six CCUS projects designed to produce 8 million tons of decarbonised cement per year by 2030. Through Holcim MAQER Ventures, it collaborates with numerous startups to scale the most innovative technologies in the built environment.