Microsoft Signals Intent to Purchase Environmental Attributes of Low-Carbon Cement Developed by Sublime Systems

Low-carbon cement technology leader Sublime Systems and Microsoft have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) indicating their intent to negotiate a contract for the purchase of environmental attribute certificates (EACs) generated from Sublime’s first commercial facilities. The outcomes of this collaboration are intended to inform the development of a book and claim market and demonstrate the impact that this innovative model can have on the decarbonization of the cement and concrete sector, which currently accounts for about 8% of global CO₂ emissions.

“Low-carbon cement is a critical climate solution not only for our work to become carbon negative by 2030, but also for the world as we look to transition to a net-zero economy,” said Julia Fidler, Fuel and Materials Decarbonization Lead, Microsoft. “We look forward to collaborating with Sublime and an ecosystem of industry partners to develop systems that are verifiable and held to the highest standards of integrity.”

Microsoft’s use of innovative contracting structures, such as purchasing the environmental benefits provided by Sublime Cement™, heralds a faster transition to decarbonized construction.

“This partnership enables us to tap Microsoft’s enthusiasm for low-carbon cement as a tool for lowering their Scope 3 emissions, in regions where our production is not yet scaled,” said Dr. Leah Ellis, CEO and co-founder of Sublime Systems. “Microsoft’s collaboration unleashes powerful signals to the broader market that there is bankable demand for our low-carbon cement and that we must scale to meet that demand. We look forward to a future where there is a Sublime Cement™ plant in every region, a future that today’s partnership enables us to swiftly build towards.”

Book and claim models decouple the environmental attributes from the product itself and enable low-carbon materials producers to access a customer base well beyond their immediate geographic area. These models are presently utilized by various industries, such as electricity, aviation, and maritime shipping. Microsoft and Sublime are developing their EAC transaction to be verifiable, additional, and catalytic, criteria that a Microsoft and RMI report previously highlighted as foundational for a book and claim model to be impactful in decarbonizing steel and concrete.

This MOU is part of Microsoft’s multi-prong 2024 strategy to forge “partnerships to accelerate technology breakthroughs” for greener concrete. It builds on Microsoft’s prior history of book and claim agreements in sustainable aviation fuel and clean energy technologies.

Specifically, Microsoft’s EAC purchases could accelerate the time to market for Sublime’s manufacturing technology and enhance the commercial viability of the company’s 1^st and 2^nd low-carbon cement plants. This agreement will focus the companies’ efforts on developing the ideal structure for Microsoft to purchase EACs from the first commercial facility Sublime is developing in Holyoke, MA, which is expected to have a 30,000 TPY production capacity and may open as early as 2026. That facility has been selected to receive an investment from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) and will focus on scale-up of Sublime’s “true-zero” cement manufacturing technology, which avoids the two major emissions sources of cement production and does not require carbon capture or clean up.

Sublime’s engagement with Microsoft builds on this and other recent momentum, including a just-announced $75 million strategic investment from global building materials majors Holcim and CRH, spanning equity and a pre-paid offtake for Sublime Cement™. To engage with Sublime on strategic or commercial opportunities, email partnerships@sublime-systems.com.

About Sublime Systems

Sublime Systems is on a mission to have a swift, massive, and enduring impact on global CO₂ emissions by decarbonizing cement. Unlike net-zero solutions that rely on carbon capture or removal, Sublime's fully electrified, “true-zero” approach avoids the industry’s legacy fossil-fueled kilns and limestone feedstock. Sublime’s electrochemical process instead extracts reactive calcium and silicates from an abundance of raw materials at ambient temperature, to make ASTM C1157-compliant Sublime Cement™, a drop-in replacement for ordinary portland cement in concrete. Sublime was founded at MIT by Dr. Leah Ellis and Prof. Yet-Ming Chiang, both respected experts in materials science, electrochemical systems, and sustainability research. The company has raised over $200M in funding from leading climate tech investors, global cement incumbents, and cooperative agreements with the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA-E, IEDO, and OCED award programs. It currently operates a Somerville, MA-based pilot plant with a >250 TPY nameplate production capacity and is developing its 30,000 TPY first commercial facility to open in Holyoke, MA as early as 2026. Learn more at sublime-systems.com.

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"We look forward to a future where there is a Sublime Cement plant in every region, a future that today’s partnership enables us to swiftly build towards,” said Sublime CEO and Co-Founder Dr. Leah Ellis.