About the Portfolio

The portfolio supports breakthrough technologies across four complementary domains:

• Alternative binders and processes – new low-carbon binder chemistries and feedstocks (e.g. magnesia-based or mafic rock sources) combined with novel curing methods such as carbonation curing.
• Clinker fraction and binder efficiency – innovations that reduce the clinker content of cement and the binder content of concrete, including new supplementary cementitious materials, optimized particle size distribution, advanced admixtures, novel reinforcement, and synthetic aggregates.
• Energy and emissions reduction – processes that lower or eliminate fossil fuel use in production, such as electrified or non-thermal routes to decarbonized lime.
• Enabling technologies – computational and data-driven tools (including AI/ML) that accelerate understanding of raw materials, hydration, and microstructural development, supporting progress across the other three domains.

Projects are expected to reach laboratory validation (TRL4) and to collaborate closely across the portfolio — sharing methodologies, data, and results — to build a joint, quantified picture of the sector’s decarbonisation potential. 

Beyond the technical work, the portfolio also develops shared views on techno-economic viability, regulatory alignment, and commercialisation pathways, ensuring that any new solution can meet or exceed the performance of existing cement and concrete products. 

In the long run, the portfolio aims to lay the groundwork for new products and processes that help the sector decarbonise in line with the European Green Deal, while strengthening EU technological leadership and reducing dependency on critical raw materials.