Aim for climate neutrality from 2050:
"Climate neutrality means achieving a balance between carbon emissions and the uptake of carbon from the atmosphere into carbon sinks. To achieve net zero emissions, all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide must be offset by carbon sequestration."
Carbon sinks absorb more carbon than they release. Natural carbon sinks include forests, soils and oceans. Artificial carbon sinks are not yet available in sufficient quantities to curb global warming. The basis for efforts regarding reduction of greenhouse gases and conservation of resources and primary energies is the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015. On the road to a climate-neutral society, the target is to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
Under the European Green Deal, climate neutrality is to be achieved by 2050, so that there are no net greenhouse gas emissions in Europe.
Since cement production accounts for a notable share of around 4-5% of total CO2 emissions in Germany, the cement industry has set itself the goal of reducing this share all the way to climate neutrality in 2050. In the process, manufacturing processes are to be optimized and other raw materials are also to be used.
The aim is to reduce the proportion of Portland cement clinker in concrete mixes in particular, as this is one of the main drivers of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere due to its energy-intensive manufacturing process in the rotary kiln at a minimum of 1,450°C and the deacidification of the limestone.
The production of 1 ton of cement generates emissions of approx. 600 kg CO2 (VDZ = Verein Deutscher Zementwerke e.V.). 2/3 of these emissions are caused by raw material-related processes and 1/3 by the fuels used.
Adjusting screws for CO2 reduction:
One contribution to CO2 reduction is the reduction of the clinker content to < 60%, if possible, through the targeted use of other cement compositions in CEM II and CEM III and the targeted market launch of a CEM VI.
In addition, the use of secondary fuels in cement production contributes to the reduction of primary energy and resources. These secondary fuels, such as used tires, animal meal, plastic waste, waste oil or sewage sludge, are mainly waste products from other value chains and are thus reused in the cement production process.
Another contribution to CO2 reduction is the material savings in building structures, the durability of concrete technologies, and the final recyclability of concrete materials.
Technologies such as micro-reinforced high-performance concrete (DUCON) thus make a significant contribution to CO2 reduction and to the conservation of the environment and resources in all 3 CO2 reduction segments. More detailed information on how DUCON implements this can be found on our website under the section "Sustainability".