Cementing the Future with Smart Decarbonization

As India accelerates its march toward net-zero, the cement industry, long regarded as one of the toughest sectors to decarbonize, is quietly undergoing a powerful transformation. From replacing fossil fuels with municipal waste to advancing carbon capture and boosting the use of fly ash in blended cement, the industry is reinventing both efficiency and sustainability to achieve the decarbonization goals. Yet, this green transition faces formidable hurdles. Escalating biomass costs, policy constraints, and the urgent need for scalable innovation continue to challenge its momentum.

In an exclusive conversation with The Interview World at the 15th Cement Expo 2025, Vimal Kumar Jain, Director – Technical, HeidelbergCement India Limited, delves into how the Indian cement industry is embedding decarbonization across every stage of its product life cycle. He explains how modern technologies are enhancing production efficiency, details the industry’s progress in meeting and redefining decarbonization benchmarks, and spotlights the emerging innovations poised to accelerate this transition.

The following are the key insights from his thought-provoking discussion.

Q: How is the Indian cement industry embedding decarbonization throughout its product life cycle?

A: The cement industry has made remarkable progress in decarbonization. However, as I emphasized during the panel discussion, we continue to face significant challenges in raising the thermal substitution rate. For instance, the cost of biomass has now risen to nearly the same level as fossil fuels, particularly coal. When the heat energy derived from biomass and coal falls within the same cost range, the economic incentive to invest in biomass diminishes. Therefore, policy-level support has become essential to sustain and accelerate our investments. Such support would enable us to fast-track decarbonization efforts and achieve greater impact across the industry.

Q: What modern technologies are being adopted to enhance the efficiency of cement production?

A: Several advanced technologies are emerging in the cement sector. For instance, we can now utilize municipal waste directly as an alternative fuel without additional processing. New innovations such as feeding hard-to-process materials into the calciner and using gasification techniques are also gaining traction. These advancements hold significant potential to reduce our overall carbon footprint.

However, when it comes to decarbonization, we must also focus on the low-hanging opportunities. One of the most effective measures is increasing the fly ash content in blended cement. By maintaining the same quality standards and raising the fly ash proportion from 35% to 40%, we can achieve a direct reduction in emissions.

This change is especially crucial for government infrastructure projects, where the use of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is still mandated. Allowing blended cement in such projects could have a substantial impact, as the government is one of the largest consumers of cement.

The difference is significant: blended cement with 40% fly ash has a clinker factor of about 62%, whereas OPC typically has a clinker factor of 91–92%. Reducing the clinker factor through higher fly ash usage therefore represents a simple yet powerful step toward meaningful decarbonization.

Q: How is the cement industry defining and tracking its decarbonization benchmarks?

A: Every industry today is actively pursuing decarbonization and striving to reduce its carbon footprint as much as possible. However, the achievable level of thermal substitution largely depends on the availability of biomass. Materials such as rice husk, for example, have become increasingly commercialized and are now widely used in other sectors like brick manufacturing. As a result, biomass costs are rising, and its supply fluctuates with seasonal variations. This volatility directly impacts the pace and cost-effectiveness of decarbonization efforts.

Q: Which emerging technologies show the most promise in driving decarbonization across the cement industry?

A: Cutting-edge technologies are rapidly transforming the cement industry. For instance, Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) has already been implemented at our plant in Norway, demonstrating that large-scale industrial carbon capture is both practical and reliable. Similarly, advanced systems such as the hot disc supplied by FLS, Denmark, the power rotor from KHD, and the step combustor developed by TKIL are enabling the direct use of municipal waste as fuel.

However, these technologies come at a higher cost, which often limits widespread adoption. Therefore, strong policy-level support is essential to make such innovations financially viable and ensure their long-term sustainability.