LC3
Industry—especially heavy industry—presents some of the biggest challenges for reducing emissions to zero. For example, the manufacturing of concrete—a staple of modern construction—releases a great deal of carbon dioxide. A number of industrial processes, such as fabricating steel, require very high temperatures that, for now, rely on burning fossil fuels. This sector is likely to see critical new solutions in the years ahead.4
Industry is arguably the most underfunded sector across climate philanthropy and top industry strategists view a low-carbon cement solution referred to as “LC3” as among the most promising plays in terms of real progress over the next five year (and beyond) and return on investment. While other solutions within the sector require further research and present large deployment barriers, LC3 is ready to scale now and is cost-effective.
The COVID-19 pandemic presents an even more critical window to act. Because of the unfolding global recession, one of the ways that countries will seek to jumpstart their economies is through large investments in infrastructure. Through investing in LC3, there is an enormous opportunity to stave off spikes in carbon emissions from traditional cement and transition the industry towards a low-carbon pathway. LC3 stands for limestone and calcined clay cement. It provides an alternative way to blend cement that reduces the total emissions from production by 30-40%, it works as well as conventional cement, it can be produced at lower cost, and is ready to be rolled out at scale following 10 years of extensive research.
Impact: Over the next four years, the EPFL team projects up to 33 million tons of LC3 production in the pipeline which translates into approximately 8 million tons of carbon dioxide saved per year. To put this in perspective, the total cement production for the entire US is 85 million tons annually. Therefore, this project has the opportunity to significantly transform the cement industry when it is needed most both from a climate standpoint and for rebuilding the economy.
Website: www.lc3.ch