Can cement fight climate change?

That’s because making cement takes huge amounts of heat, usually provided by burning coal or wood – plus the raw material, limestone, releases CO₂ as it cooks.

But a new kind of cement that absorbs CO₂ from the air as it hardens has the potential to turn the global construction industry into a green boon to the planet.

Invented by the company Novacem, the product uses magnesium silicate as a base material. This requires much less heat to turn into cement – and also sucks CO₂ out of the atmosphere as it hardens. That ability makes the cement carbon-negative, meaning buildings made from it would help fight the greenhouse effect in a similar way to trees.

Novacem has already attracted the attention of major global construction companies, and the company is currently testing its new product for strength and durability.