A groundbreaking artificial intelligence system developed by researchers in Switzerland is poised to revolutionize one of the world's most carbon-intensive industries: cement production.
The interdisciplinary team at the Paul Scherrer Institute's Center for Nuclear Engineering and Sciences has created an AI model that functions as a "digital cookbook" for climate-friendly cement, generating optimized recipes in seconds rather than the months or years traditional testing would require.
"Instead of testing thousands of variations in the lab, we can use our model to generate practical recipe suggestions within seconds," explains mathematician Romana Boiger, the study's lead author. The AI calculates total CO2 emissions for different cement formulations approximately 1,000 times faster than conventional modeling approaches.
The significance of this innovation cannot be overstated. Cement production accounts for approximately 8% of global carbon emissions - more than three times the entire aviation industry's contribution. The emissions come from two main sources: the energy-intensive heating of rotary kilns to 1,400°C and, more significantly, the chemical release of CO2 from limestone during transformation into clinker.
The AI system specifically targets these emissions by identifying alternative cementitious materials that can partially replace clinker while maintaining cement's crucial binding properties. "If we could improve the emissions profile by just a few percent, this would correspond to a carbon dioxide reduction equivalent to thousands or even tens of thousands of cars," notes John Provis, head of the Cement Systems Research Group at PSI.
The research, conducted as part of the Swiss Centre of Excellence on Net Zero Emissions (SCENE) project, required an interdisciplinary approach combining cement chemistry, thermodynamics, and artificial intelligence expertise. While the team has discovered many promising cement formulations, these candidates must now undergo laboratory testing before implementation in the construction industry.
As global demand for green cement grows - with the market projected to reach $52.15 billion by 2029 - this AI innovation represents a critical step toward decarbonizing a fundamental building material. The technology demonstrates how artificial intelligence can accelerate solutions to some of our most pressing environmental challenges.