Catalyst with Shayle Kann

The complex path to market for low-carbon cement


Listen Later

Getting the construction industry to try a novel form of cement is like turning a giant ship. It’s hard to redirect the immense momentum behind existing ways of doing business, especially involving cement, the most energy-intensive ingredient in concrete. Industry insiders point to tight margins, concerns about messing with the ingredients that literally hold up buildings, and the long list of stakeholders will agree to try a new material. 

So how do you get a risk-averse construction supply chain to try decarbonized cement?

In this episode, Shayle talks to Leah Ellis, CEO and co-founder of Sublime Systems, a company that recently landed its first commercial deployment of decarbonized cement. (Shayle is an investor in Sublime). Shayle and Leah cover topics like:

  • The long list of parties involved in a single pour of concrete
  • Why the green premium is a burden for margin-squeezed contractors but “budget dust” for the building buyer
  • How to align stakeholders, once there's buy-in from financers
  • How a book-and-claim system could work for decarbonized cement
  • How major concrete consumers, like governments, can create demand 
  • Why the boom in data center construction creates a window of opportunity for decarbonized construction materials
  • Recommended resources

    Catalyst: Pathways to decarbonizing steel

    Catalyst: Fixing cement’s carbon problem

    Latitude Media: With climate venture capital down, industrial investments had a ‘breakout year’ in 2023

    Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub is working with more than 70 utilities across North America to help scale VPP programs to manage load growth, maximize the value of renewables, and deliver flexibility at every level of the grid. To learn more about their Edge DERMS platform and services, go to energyhub.com.

    On December 3 in Washington, DC, Latitude Media is bringing together a range of experts for Transition-AI 2024, a one-day, in-person event addressing both sides of the AI-energy nexus: the challenges AI poses to the grid, and the opportunities. Our podcast listeners get a 10% discount on this year’s conference using the code LMPODS10. Register today here!

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    Catalyst with Shayle KannBy Latitude Media

    • 5
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5

    5

    240 ratings


    More shows like Catalyst with Shayle Kann

    View all
    Climate One by Climate One from The Commonwealth Club

    Climate One

    562 Listeners

    Energy Gang by Wood Mackenzie

    Energy Gang

    1,254 Listeners

    Columbia Energy Exchange by Columbia University

    Columbia Energy Exchange

    394 Listeners

    Currents by Norton Rose Fulbright

    Currents

    123 Listeners

    Interchange Recharged by Wood Mackenzie

    Interchange Recharged

    500 Listeners

    Redefining Energy by Laurent Segalen and Gerard Reid

    Redefining Energy

    122 Listeners

    Inevitable by an MCJ podcast

    Inevitable

    170 Listeners

    Switched On by Bloomberg

    Switched On

    100 Listeners

    POLITICO Energy by POLITICO

    POLITICO Energy

    134 Listeners

    Climate Rising by Harvard Business School Business & Environment Initiative

    Climate Rising

    73 Listeners

    Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change by Michael Liebreich, Bryony Worthington

    Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change

    71 Listeners

    Volts by David Roberts

    Volts

    570 Listeners

    The Green Blueprint by Latitude Media

    The Green Blueprint

    209 Listeners

    Zero: The Climate Race by Bloomberg

    Zero: The Climate Race

    183 Listeners

    The Latitude by Latitude Media

    The Latitude

    124 Listeners

    Hot Buttons by Latitude Media

    Hot Buttons

    72 Listeners

    With Great Power by GridX and Latitude Studios

    With Great Power

    81 Listeners

    Shift Key with Robinson Meyer and Jesse Jenkins by Heatmap News

    Shift Key with Robinson Meyer and Jesse Jenkins

    88 Listeners