CILANTRO: Rethinking the Chemistry of Cement

The challenge of decarbonising the construction industry is often framed as a problem of energy efficiency. However, for those of us working at the heart of the CILANTRO project, the real obstacle isn’t just how much energy we use – it is the chemical reaction itself.

The Problem with Traditional Heat

Standard cement production relies on a process called calcination. This requires heating limestone to extreme temperatures, reaching up to 1,450°C. The chemistry of this reaction is fixed: it inevitably releases the CO₂ that has been locked inside the stone for millions of years.

Even the most efficient furnaces cannot stop this release. While modern strategies like carbon capture or using alternative materials provide partial solutions, none have yet delivered a fully scalable and economically viable way to eliminate these “process emissions”.

The CILANTRO Shift: Mechanical Force Over Fire

CILANTRO represents a fundamental shift in how we think about manufacturing. Instead of using intense heat to break down minerals, we are pioneering tribochemical processing.

In this process, chemical transformations are driven by mechanical forces – such as rubbing, crushing, or milling solids- rather than high-temperature kilns. By carefully selecting the gases and operating conditions used during this mechanical activation, we aim to:

• Prevent CO₂ Generation: Decarbonate minerals at much lower temperatures to avoid emissions entirely.

• Co-produce Valuable Gases: Generate precursors that can be used as clean energy carriers or for chemical synthesis.

• Create a Carbon Sink: Transform cement production into a circular process that could even become carbon-negative over the lifetime of a concrete structure.

A Unified European Mission

This ambitious “high-risk, high-reward” technology is being developed by a multidisciplinary consortium of eight research groups across Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Ireland, and Switzerland. Coordinated by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), our team brings together expertise in materials science, catalysis, and atomistic simulations to turn this vision into a scalable reality.

As part of the European Innovation Council (EIC) portfolio, CILANTRO is contributing to a broader mission: rethinking how carbon is managed to permanently reduce atmospheric CO₂ and build a climate-neutral future.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.