Brussels accused of stonewalling climate-friendly cement makers

Climate-friendly cement products are being blocked from the European market by large firms with backing from Brussels, politicians and NGOs have warned. 

Cement is big business in Europe. Including clinker manufacturing, turnover for the EU cement sector in 2021 was €22 billion, with its kilns accounting for around 4% of the EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions. 

But for cement to be sold on the EU market, the product must comply with a single standard: EN 197. Any cement-like product not covered by this standard cannot be sold in the EU. That excludes new, climate-friendly cement products that use granular materials to reduce both climate impact and production costs.

And despite its public climate pledges, the European Commission is doing little to change this, according to a coalition of NGOs, think tanks, and clean-tech startups. They accuse the EU’s executive of bowing to pressure from established firms by keeping these products off the market. 

The issue came to light after the EU executive requested a “technical report” on alkali-activated cements – a recipe developed in Ukraine last century and used globally – instead of adding it immediately to the EU’s cement standard. 

“The change of position can be attributed to the heavy pressure exerted by the traditional Portland cement industry,” the coalition said.

Green MEP Sara Matthieu, who negotiates environmental files for her group in the European Parliament, said the move “proves once again that big incumbent cement manufacturers use their disproportionate influence in standardisation bodies to keep innovative clean-tech companies out of the market”.

Both Matthieu and the NGOs blame the EU’s standard-setting body CEN, where established firms, according to the coalition, enjoy a “dominant position”.

“Incumbent firms are playing for time,” said Joren Verschaeve at the Brussels-based Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS). Established firms are “delaying newer, climate-friendly clinker and cement recipes until they have their own versions to sell.”

Matthieu, who co-negotiated the bloc’s construction product standards system, says her “attempts to avoid this scenario … were ignored by conservatives and member states.” 

Commission response

However, with the EU executive demanding additional information, the review “is falling far short of opening a door to climate-friendly cements,” said Verschaeve – and the next review of cement recipes is not expected before next decade.  

Meanwhile, companies may turn to markets like the UK, where climate-friendlier cement is already legal and market access is easier, the environmental campaigner noted.

Matthieu urged the Commission to “finally step in to develop the necessary standards” and called the bloc’s upcoming Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act the right opportunity to do so.

Industry lobby Cembureau, which represents established firms in Brussels, said “all cement producers in Europe are looking and working on new cements”.

“Legislation has an influence on these developments, but more important is the combination of practical usable solutions (especially in the scalability) in combination with market developments that brings this forward,” a spokesperson told Euractiv.

(rh, de)