This low-carbon cement was designed in the Landes using raw clay

The cement industry is one of the most polluting in the world: it is responsible for 8% of international greenhouse gas emissions. In order to fulfill its environmental commitments and the national low-carbon strategy, France needs to thoroughly renovate this sector. In this context, the Landes start-up Materrup has developed a cement made from local raw clay, halving the CO2 emissions associated with its production. decryption.

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Cement pollutes, why?

In the manufacture of concrete, cement is the binding agent responsible for bonding the pebbles and sand together. It is itself essentially composed of clinker, a mixture of limestone and clay fired in a rotary kiln over very high heat. To reach the temperature of 1450° necessary for its manufacture, clinker requires fossil fuels, which in turn emit enormous amounts of carbon dioxide.

However, cement is the most widely used material in the world teaches us French culture, with 15 billion cubic meters of concrete annually. Several alternatives are possible to reduce the CO2 footprint of production: reducing the clinker content, replacing fossil fuels with alternative fuels, deploying new technologies for capturing carbon.

Materrup, a local solution

Mathieu Neuville holds a doctorate in the physics of materials and binders. After a period in the research and development departments of Lafarge and Total, he became aware of the need to fundamentally transform the production of building materials.

In 2018, he founded Materrup: thanks to the Research division, the start-up has developed an innovative technology for the production of cement from clay excavated on site. This new recipe does not require cooking: the clay is processed raw into the cement and a mixture of minerals does the rest.

If the young entrepreneur insures French culture The fact that the technology can still be refined is already having an effect in the construction sector: CO2 emissions are halved, while the quality of the concrete is preserved.

Building on its success, the young shoot develops by preferring to short-circuit. Several factory openings are planned on a local scale, using the on-site raw material and distributing production in an adjacent perimeter.

From local to global?

Today Materrup is a family business, with 17 employees and a dozen recruitments in progress. However, its innovative technology has not failed to attract the attention of industrial giants. Anxious to keep control of its technology (protected by no less than 35 international patents!), Materrup nevertheless plans to sign some partnerships.

So are we leaving traditional concrete behind?

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