Cement production accounts for around 8% of global CO₂ emissions, with the main culprit being the high-temperature heating of limestone in kilns. UK-based startup Reclinker has found a way to eliminate this step: turning concrete waste back into clinker using electric arc furnaces (EAFs) at steel plants.
Conventional cement is made up of approximately 77% clinker, which is produced by heating limestone — a process responsible for around 900 kg of CO₂ emissions per tonne of product. Reclinker takes cement paste recovered from construction and demolition waste and converts it back into clinker using the same EAFs that melt steel. No quarries, no kilns, and no fossil fuels.
The technology cuts emissions by 50% while keeping costs on par with conventional cement. The gap is expected to widen as production scales up. An added benefit is the recycling of one of the world’s largest industrial waste streams.
The Cardiff-based company has raised a $13 million Series A round to expand production and roll out its technology at steel plants equipped with electric arc furnaces across Europe and the US. The round was oversubscribed — a rare achievement in an often-overlooked sector like cement.
Read more news here