The Clinker Factor

In our first podcast of 2023, Gurinder Nagra (Founder of Furno Materials) and Greg Houchins (Founder of Chement), join Ian Riley to discuss their ideas, the challenges of commercialising new cement technologies, and the advantages of working with the Breakthrough Energy Fellows.

In this episode, Ian Riley talks to Liz Gilligan, Founder of Material Evolution, about building a business based on currently unused sources of cementitious materials, the challenges of launching new products and Material Evolution’s journey as a tech start-up.

In this special Clinker Factor bonus episode, Ian Riley, WCA CEO and Amr Nader, CEO of A³&Co talk to Manon Burbidge, WCA, on the specificities of what's needed to decarbonise the cement industry in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, the first steps of a roadmap towards net zero that require minimum investment, and also WCA's annual conference, to be held 25-28th September in Dubai, UAE.

More information on the conference can be found at www.worldcementassociation.org.

In this episode, Ian Riley talks to David McNeil of Sustainable Fitch on the latest news and trends in the world of ESG investing, and the impacts these will have on the global cement and concrete industry. They cover carbon offsets, carbon markets, the expectations of ESG investors and dependence on thermal coal.

Greg Kats and Vivian Loftness of the Smart Surfaces Coalition join Ian Riley to discuss the role of concrete in the palette of smart surfaces that planners have available to reduce the risks of climate-induced heat waves and flooding in the world's cities.

In this special International Women's Day episode of the Clinker Factor podcast, Ian Riley talks to three women who are breaking the bias in the concrete industry - Nicole Campbell (Yorkton Concrete/Concrete Saskatchewan), Chen Yu (China Concrete Products Association) and Alana Guzzetta (US Concrete) - about their work, their experiences and their messages for women and girls looking to start a career in concrete.

Ryan Cialdella of Ozinga talks to Ian Riley all things low carbon concrete - from prices, using new products for projects, interest in blended products, supply chain cooperation, and challenges present and future for the industry.

Ian Riley and Manon Burbidge reflect on their time at COP26, discussing the outcomes of the conference, and what the cement and concrete industry can learn, including setting targets to 2030, adaptation and resilience, finance, climate justice and the need for deep collaboration.

In this episode, Ian talks to Herb Burton of US Concrete, on everything low carbon concrete, including appetite for the product, need for investment, standardisation, the role of the cement sector and transparency.

Ian Riley talks to Liran Akavia, COO of Seebo, about how AI can improve efficiency and lower carbon emissions in the cement industry. The discussion takes us from what process-based AI is, the benefits it can have for the industry's decarbonisation efforts, how to implement it and what producers could gain in terms of better quality, better profitability and better efficiency.