Sublime Systems CEO and Co-Founder Leah Ellis

Concrete is the second most-used material in the world, right behind water. It’s everywhere – in our bridges, our buildings, our homes, our roads. It’s the literal foundation for much of our lives.

And cement is a key ingredient in that foundation. It acts as the glue that binds together the water and aggregate to make concrete. Globally, we produced more than four billion tons of cement in 2021, and demand is expected to grow.

But for each ton of cement produced, a ton of carbon is emitted due to the fossil fuel-powered heat and reactions needed to produce it. Altogether, the cement industry accounts for 8% of global carbon emissions. To build our net-zero future, we'll need even more concrete for new and existing infrastructure, but we'll also need to clean up cement production to prevent ever increasing emissions.

And that's what this month's Watt it Takes guest, Sublime Systems CEO and co-founder Leah Ellis, is doing.

Leah and her colleagues at Sublime Systems are decarbonizing the cement industry by creating a process that produces cement with electricity instead of fossil fuels.

Emily spoke with Leah about developing the science behind low carbon cement. They also talked about the importance of getting experience in the industry while she was still an academic, and Sublime's ultimate goal of launching a plant capable of producing a million tons of cement a year.

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