Cement is one of the most-consumed materials on Earth — second only to water — and it accounts for a whopping eight percent of the world's carbon pollution. What if we could turn this climate villain into a hero? Clean tech innovator and serial entrepreneur Ryan Gilliam reveals his company's surprisingly simple process for transforming waste from the cement-making process back into limestone using existing infrastructure, creating a competitive and eco-friendly product that could pave the way for gigaton-scale climate solutions.
After the talk, Sherrell reflects on the market for green cement and highlights other initiatives working to increase transparency and adopt lower-emission products.
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[00:00:33] Veränderung steht nicht bevor, sie ist bereits da. Der Handel wird digital, die Steuerkomplexität nimmt zu. Vorgaben ändern sich, Steuersätze schwanken, Datenströme nehmen zu. Vertex vernetzt alles. Eine globale Plattform für Steuercompliance, betrieben durch steuerbereite Daten und intelligente Systeme. Intelligentere Technologie, kontinuierliche Steuercompliance, volles Vertrauen. Erfahren Sie mehr auf vertexinc.com.
[00:01:01] Daher geht es um ein paar Jahre lang. Angelegenheiten, die wir in der Welt haben, die wir in der Welt haben. I'm Brooke Gladstone, host of WNYC's On the Media. Want to understand the reasons and the meanings of the narratives that led us here? And maybe how to head them off at the pass? That's On the Media's specialty. Take a listen wherever you get your podcasts.
[00:01:37] When we talk about tackling climate change, our minds often jump to the obvious culprits. Cars, planes, power plants. But lurking in plain sight is a massive, often overlooked contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Concrete is the second most consumed substance on Earth, only behind water.
[00:02:00] And the glue that holds it all together, cement, alone accounts for a staggering 8% of global CO2 emissions. To put that in perspective, if the cement industry were a country, its emissions would outrank India's, placing it third worldwide. So how do we even begin to address a problem this monumental? This is TED Tech, a podcast from TED.
[00:02:30] I'm your host, Sherelle Dorsey. Ryan Gilliam, our speaker today, makes the case for a smart innovation that works with the existing giants of the cement industry. Ryan's vision entails leveraging their scale and infrastructure to turn a major polluter into a key player in our journey towards a zero-carbon future. Before we dive in, a quick break to hear from our sponsors.
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[00:04:22] And now, Brian Gilliam takes the TED stage. To solve climate change, we have to focus on the big emissions. I'm talking the gigatons. Billions of tons of greenhouse gases coming from industries like steel or chemicals or energy or what I focus on, cement. Think of it as the glue in concrete, which is the second most consumed thing on the earth, second only to water.
[00:04:48] Cement alone accounts for roughly 8% of the world's CO2 emissions. So if it were a country, it would be producing more emissions than India and sit in third place just behind the United States. We have to solve for those emissions. So I have good news. We can actually reduce or eliminate those emissions if we focus on technologies that actually work within the existing cement ecosystem. Look, cement and concrete are a risk-averse industry for good reason.
[00:05:16] It's going into bridges and tunnels and buildings where performance and safety matter. So if we're going to have a meaningful impact on the CO2 emissions in this space, we have to focus on what, or we have to leverage what the industry already does incredibly well. And that comes down to really four things. First, it's leveraging the same feedstocks that are already used at every cement plant and already at the billions of tons scale.
[00:05:41] Second, it's leveraging as much of the capital infrastructure from quarry through to product distribution that's already in place to drive down costs and timelines. Third, it's producing a product that actually fits within the existing regulations so that contractors will be comfortable putting that product to market. And fourth, and most importantly, is producing a product that's economically competitive with traditional cement without a green premium.
[00:06:08] So in order to understand how to actually achieve this, we have to look at cement in a little bit more detail. Why is it actually so CO2 intensive? Well, the main ingredient in cement is limestone. Limestone is a type of rock that is actually 44% by weight solid CO2. And so to make cement, you put that limestone into a kiln and you heat it up to 1,450 degrees Celsius using fossil fuels like coal and gas. The whole reason why you're heating it up is to actually drive those CO2 out of that limestone.
[00:06:38] So not only do you have the emissions from the carbon fuels, you also have the emissions from the limestone itself. So how did it get there in the first place? Well, that's where the company I run today got its inspiration from a company that started 17 years ago called Calera. Calera took its cues from nature and how nature forms its building blocks.
[00:07:01] So if you look at coral reefs and shells in nature, what actually happens is you absorb CO2 in the ocean and make this reactive form of limestone, these little ball structures called vatterite. And when you do that, you end up making this beautiful white powder that is actually 44% by weight CO2. And when you add water to it, it's going to want to transform back to a ragunite or calcite going through a cementing reaction.
[00:07:29] So what this allows us to do is take CO2 from being a waste and actually put it into the product. It's a brilliant concept. So problem solved, right? Unfortunately, no. The concept worked technically, but it wasn't grounded in economics. And it was competitive as opposed to additive to the cement space. So we had to look at the problem in another way. How do we use that or how do we fit within the existing cement industry as it is today, making a product that's cheap enough and can actually get to the gigatons of savings?
[00:07:59] So what we figured out is we could take that technology and put it at existing cement kilns alongside existing cement manufacturers. In doing so, we can bolt onto the back of the process, capture the CO2 gas coming out of the kiln with the lime that we produce from that limestone, and produce this product that can then be blended with traditional cement or utilized as 100% cement replacement.
[00:08:24] By actually capturing that CO2 and turning it back into a product, we effectively double the amount of product we make, which is what makes it economically competitive. So a little bit comically, we're taking limestone and we're turning it back into limestone. But we're going from an inert rock to a form of limestone that is actually a cement. And in doing so, we're able to reduce CO2 emissions by 70% per ton when still using the fossil fuels.
[00:08:53] And if we integrate with clean electricity or green fuels, we get all the way to a zero CO2 cement. So by dropping directly into existing plants, utilizing the existing product distribution channels, we can work with the big cement players that already understand how to get to scale and how to get to a cheap cost. And that's how we get to gigaton reductions. And this is real. While Fortera is only a four-year-old company, we're able to scale quickly to our first commercial plant because we've worked with the industry.
[00:09:23] Our plant in Northern California came online earlier in 2024, and proved this ability to bolt onto an existing plant and make a product that the industry can actually use. And we're not stopping there with plants to scale globally. And thankfully, we're also not alone. There's a host of other companies working on trying to solve emissions in cement and concrete. But our secret sauce is fitting within the existing cement ecosystem and developing a product that's better from a pollution standpoint,
[00:09:51] while at the same time providing all the performance you need and that the contractors can work with. By scaling this way and working with the industry, we can get to these gigaton savings. So again, by working with industry, as opposed to competing with industry, we can pave the way to zero CO2 cement and solve the four billion tons coming from the cement industry in the next few decades. Thank you.
[00:10:44] Thank you. This is Ryan Gilliam for TED Countdown. Innovations spearheaded by companies like Ryan's Forterra aren't an anomaly. As we look to the horizon, the future of the cement industry is increasingly intertwined with sustainability, and the market for green cement is growing rapidly.
[00:11:12] Estimates suggest a global market size of around 38 billion in 2024, with projections reaching up to 86 billion by 2032. This growth is driven by increasing environmental awareness, stricter regulations, and a growing demand for eco-friendly construction materials. It's encouraging that traditional cement companies are beginning to acknowledge and act upon the need for cleaner operations.
[00:11:39] Many are exploring and implementing various strategies to reduce their carbon footprint. This includes companies like Wholesome and Ultratech. They're using fly ash, slag, and other industrial byproducts to replace a portion of traditional clinker, the most carbon-intensive component of cement. Ultratech even reuses 100% of the fly ash it generates. To reduce reliance on fossil fuels,
[00:12:08] cement manufacturers are exploring options like waste heat recovery systems. They're using alternative fuels derived from non-recyclable waste too, such as solid recovered fuel. The efforts of companies like Forterra, highlighted in the main talk, demonstrate the viability of integrating sustainable solutions within the existing cement ecosystem.
[00:12:32] Their ability to scale a CO2-utilizing technology by working alongside traditional cement producers offers a compelling model for the future. Furthermore, initiatives like the Global Cement and Concrete Association's low-carbon rating system aim to provide transparency and drive further adoption of lower-emission products. The transition to a fully sustainable cement industry will take time
[00:13:01] and significant investment. But the growing market, the increasing efforts of traditional players, and the emergence of innovative companies signal a promising shift. The potential to transform one of the world's largest emitters into a key solution provider in the fight against climate change is not just a possibility, but an increasingly tangible goal.
[00:13:33] All right, that's our show. Thanks for listening. TED Tech is a podcast from TED. This episode was produced by Trina Manino. Our editor is Alejandra Salazar. And the show is fact-checked by Julia Dickerson. Special thanks to Constanza Gallardo, Daniela Balareso, Maria Latias, Tanzika Sungmaninvon, and Roxanne Hilash. If you're enjoying the show, make sure to subscribe and leave us a review so other people can find us too.
[00:14:02] I'm Sherelle Dorsey. Let's keep digging into the future. Join me next week for more. Veränderung steht nicht bevor. Sie ist bereits da. Der Handel wird digital. Die Steuerkomplexität nimmt zu. Vorgaben ändern sich, Steuersätze schwanken, Datenströme nehmen zu. Vertex vernetzt alles. Eine globale Plattform für Steuercompliance,
[00:14:31] betrieben durch steuerbereite Daten und intelligente Systeme. Intelligentere Technologie. Kontinuierliche Steuercompliance. Volles Vertrauen. Erfahren Sie mehr auf vertexinc.com. Ted Next. Looking for more insights on how to be your best self creatively, professionally, or looking to build community with fellow future thinkers? Join us at this year's TED Next conference in Atlanta coming up November 9th through 11th. You'll hear fresh ideas in new world-renowned TED Talks
[00:15:00] and experience unforgettable immersive interactions with art, tech, and more. Come to make connections that will last a lifetime. Learn more about TED Next at ted.com slash future you. You can also find the link in this episode description. Thanks for listening.