Into the future
There is no way we can imagine the world without cement and concrete. From 30 years ago, when International Cement Review was first published, until today, cement production on the planet has quadrupled. Depending on regional developments this volume may more or less stabilise going forward or even exhibit further growth. In any case, the cement industry will continue to lower the CO2 footprint of cement and concrete. By Dr Martin Schneider, VDZ, Germany.
Figure 1: cements containing clinker, limestone and one additional main constituent, according to EN 197-1. The CEM
II/C and CEM VI cements are under standardisation as well as cements containing
clinker, slag and pozzolanas (the latter ones are not shown)
In an episode of the famous TV quiz show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”, shown in Germany in January 2018, the EUR1m question was: “Which of the following products is produced in the world in the highest amount: plastic, steel, paper or cement?” While the candidate decided to not answer but leave with EUR500,000 instead, most ICR readers would love to have been sitting in the chair for that question. Cement is indeed the most widely-produced material on earth, with 4.5bnt of annual production. It is the key facilitator for modern societies. The development of today’s world is predominantly based on an infrastructure made from concrete – made of cement.
