Cemex Recognized at COP29 for Solar Clinker Breakthrough

November 20, 2024 at 18:29 PM EST

Award recognizes Cemex’s efforts to develop breakthrough decarbonization technologies for the cement industry.
Cemex uses concentrated solar power to produce clinker, the main component of cement.

Cemex was awarded the Net-Zero Industries Award by Mission Innovation at a ceremony during COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan for its revolutionary clinker decarbonization process using concentrated solar power.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241120978042/en/

The Net-Zero Industries Award recognizes and celebrates outstanding innovations in industrial decarbonization; it spotlights the people and projects revolutionizing energy-intensive industries and driving substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Cemex’s solar clinker project is a collaboration with cleantech company Synhelion, who developed the high-temperature solar heat technology it uses.

“Together with Synhelion, we are pioneering solar-powered clinker production, a breakthrough process that can contribute to decarbonizing cement manufacturing,” said Davide Zampini, Vice President of Global R&D at Cemex. “This award recognizes our vision of achieving net-zero CO₂ emissions, as well as our passion for innovation.”

“We congratulate Cemex on winning the Net-Zero Industries Award, which is a testament to our shared vision to decarbonize cement manufacturing and pave the way for a more sustainable industry,” said Gianluca Ambrosetti, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Synhelion. “The solar clinker project is an example of the transformative power of clean energy innovation in industrial processes.”

Cemex partnered with Synhelion in 2019 to reduce CO₂ emissions in cement production. This collaboration led to a significant milestone in 2022 with the first successful production of solar clinker in a small-scale pilot.

Building on this success, the technology was scaled further in 2023 by enabling clinker production in a continuous manner over an extended period – a key milestone for implementing the technology at an industrial scale. Cemex and Synhelion are advancing toward developing a solar-driven, industrial-scale pilot cement plant.

Mission Innovation is a global initiative to catalyze action and investment in research, development, and demonstration to make clean energy affordable, attractive, and accessible to all in this decade.

The full Net-Zero Industries Awards winners list is available at:

https://mission-innovation.net/missions/net-zero-industries-mission/net-zero-industries-award-2024/

About Cemex

Cemex is a global construction materials company that is building a better future through sustainable products and solutions. Cemex is committed to achieving carbon neutrality through relentless innovation and industry-leading research and development. Cemex is at the forefront of the circular economy in the construction value chain and is pioneering ways to increase the use of waste and residues as alternative raw materials and fuels in its operations with the help of new technologies. Cemex offers cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates, and urbanization solutions in growing markets around the world, powered by a multinational workforce focused on providing a superior customer experience enabled by digital technologies. For more information, please visit: www.cemex.com

About Synhelion

Synhelion produces sustainable solar fuels. The cleantech scale-up company is on a mission to contribute to a net-zero transportation sector by replacing fossil fuels with renewable solar fuels. Founded in 2016 as a spin-off of ETH Zurich, Synhelion is now commercializing the Sun-to-Liquid technology. In June 2024, the company inaugurated DAWN, the world’s first industrial plant for the production of solar fuel in Jülich, Germany. RISE, Synhelion’s first commercial production plant, will be located in Spain and is scheduled to produce fuels from 2027. On its road to defossilize transportation, Synhelion is supported by a network of international partners such as Eni, Cemex, Lufthansa Group, Swiss International Air Lines, SMS group, Wood, AMAG Group, Zurich Airport, and Pilatus Aircraft. For more information, please visit www.synhelion.com

Except as the context otherwise may require, references in this press release to “Cemex,” ”we,” ”us,” ”our,” refer to Cemex, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: CX) and its consolidated subsidiaries. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We intend these forward-looking statements to be covered by the “safe harbor” provisions for forward-looking statements within the meaning of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect Cemex’s current expectations and projections about future events based on Cemex’s knowledge of present facts and circumstances and assumptions about future events, as well as Cemex’s current plans based on such facts and circumstances, unless otherwise indicated. These statements necessarily involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from Cemex’s expectations, including, among others, risks, uncertainties, and assumptions discussed in Cemex’s most recent annual report and detailed from time to time in Cemex’s other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Mexican Stock Exchange (Bolsa Mexicana de Valores), which factors are incorporated herein by reference, which if materialized could ultimately lead to Cemex’s expectations and/or expected results not producing the expected benefits and/or results. Forward-looking statements should not be considered guarantees of future performance, nor the results or developments are indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods. These factors may be revised or supplemented, and the information contained in this press release is subject to change without notice, but Cemex is not under, and expressly disclaims, any obligation to update or correct this press release or revise any forward-looking statement contained herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances. Any or all of Cemex’s forward-looking statements may turn out to be inaccurate. Accordingly, undue reliance on forward-looking statements should not be placed, as such forward-looking statements speak only as of the dates on which they are made. The content of this press release is for informational purposes only, and you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Cemex is not responsible for, and expressly disclaims responsibility for, the content of any third-party website or webpage referenced to or accessible through this press release.

There is currently no single globally recognized or accepted, consistent, and comparable set of definitions or standards (legal, regulatory, or otherwise) of, nor widespread cross-market consensus i) as to what constitutes, a ‘green’, ‘social,’ or ‘sustainable’ or having equivalent-labelled activity, product, or asset; or ii) as to what precise attributes are required for a particular activity, product, or asset to be defined as ‘green’, ‘social,’ or ‘sustainable’ or such other equivalent label; or iii) as to climate and sustainable funding and financing activities and their classification and reporting. Therefore, there is little certainty, and no assurance or representation is given that such activities and/or reporting of those activities will meet any present or future expectations or requirements for describing or classifying funding and financing activities as ‘green’, ‘social’, or ‘sustainable’ or attributing similar labels. We expect policies, regulatory requirements, standards, and definitions to be developed and continuously evolve over time.