Greening the Cement Industry II
A few days ago I wrote about Wired magazines top 10 green-tech innovations for 2008. At the top of the list was an experimental Carbon negative cement factory that is about to go online.
Well, it seems that the boys (and girls) from Calera have competition in the form of British engineers (from the company Novacem) who are working on their version of a carbon negative cement factory. This bodes well for the consumer as well as the long term survivability of the product. Simply put, competition generally is the most reliable stimulus for innovation - with a downward effect on price. And competition can often be the shock that companies need to be efficient and thorough with their business model.
Both factories seem to be employing similar production methods that mimic organic processes through which chalk, a basic component of cement, is made. What is not clear at this moment is if the two companies are true competitors or different branches of the same parent company.
As mentioned in the previous post, the cement industry is one of the largest producer of GHGs in the world. Any attempt to green this industry is welcome.