The Clinker Factor

In this episode of the Clinker Factor, Ian Riley speaks to Siegfried Andraess, Global Industry Manager Building Materials & Glass of SICK AG and WCA Member, about the influence of process automation on the cement industry, the role of real-time data monitoring, and the opportunity to use automation solutions to improve safety performance. 

In the latest episode of the Clinker Factor, Ian Riley speaks to Tom Mitchell, Executive Director of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), on the potential of the Loss and Damage Fund, the pressures that climate-vulnerable developing countries face, and the innovative approaches we can take to combat climate change.

In this episode, Ian Riley speaks to Mirjam-Kim Rääbis, Product Developer at UP Catalyst, and Dr. Inger Lise Alsvik, Scientific Researcher at Saferock, about their organisation's most recent collaboration to start developing carbon negative concrete, the challenges of being a start-up, and the opportunities and advantages of working with national institutions. 

In this episode, Ian Riley speaks to Dr. Gianluca Ambrosetti, CEO and Founder of Synhelion, about the challenges and opportunities of bringing solar fuels to market and the pioneering technology behind the development of solar clinker.  

In the latest episode of the Clinker Factor, Ian Riley speaks to Hari Harikumar, VP & GM Advanced Carbon & Membranes of CHASM Advanced Materials and WCA Member about the development of the world's largest nanotube reactor and the potential application of nanotubes to cement and concrete.

In this episode, Ian Riley speaks to Fabien Charbonnel, CEO of WCA Corporate Member - Cem'In'Eu, about the changing requirements of his customers, the impact of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and the development of low carbon cement.

In this episode, Ian Riley speaks to Alex Hall, CEO of Concrete.ai and WCA Member, about his experiences in the concrete industry, the importance of artificial intelligence in optimising concrete performance, and the potential to reduce costs and carbon emissions.

In this episode, Ian Riley speaks to Dirk Lechtenberg, Managing Director & Founder of WCA Member MVW Lechtenberg and Partner about the trend towards biogenic fuels and emerging technologies in AFR.

In this special International Women's Day episode of the Clinker Factor podcast, Ian Riley speaks to Madhumita Basu, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer of Nuvoco Vistas Corp Ltd, about her experiences, Nuvoco's sustainability strategy, the importance of gender diversity and the opening of its first all-women plant. 

In this episode, Ian Riley speaks to David Boyd, CCO of Carbon Re and WCA Member, about their recent whitepaper “Three technologies to reduce climate change” as well as their development of the world's first AI-powered platform for decarbonising energy-intensive industries like cement. The whitepaper can be found at: https://carbonre.com/resources/technologiestoreduceclimatechangewhitepaper

In our first podcast of 2023, Gurinder Nagra (Founder of Furno Materials) and Greg Houchins (Founder of Chement), join Ian Riley to discuss their ideas, the challenges of commercialising new cement technologies, and the advantages of working with the Breakthrough Energy Fellows.

In this episode, Ian Riley talks to Liz Gilligan, Founder of Material Evolution, about building a business based on currently unused sources of cementitious materials, the challenges of launching new products and Material Evolution’s journey as a tech start-up.

In this special Clinker Factor bonus episode, Ian Riley, WCA CEO and Amr Nader, CEO of A³&Co talk to Manon Burbidge, WCA, on the specificities of what's needed to decarbonise the cement industry in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, the first steps of a roadmap towards net zero that require minimum investment, and also WCA's annual conference, to be held 25-28th September in Dubai, UA...

In this episode, Ian Riley talks to David McNeil of Sustainable Fitch on the latest news and trends in the world of ESG investing, and the impacts these will have on the global cement and concrete industry. They cover carbon offsets, carbon markets, the expectations of ESG investors and dependence on thermal coal.

Greg Kats and Vivian Loftness of the Smart Surfaces Coalition join Ian Riley to discuss the role of concrete in the palette of smart surfaces that planners have available to reduce the risks of climate-induced heat waves and flooding in the world's cities.

In this special International Women's Day episode of the Clinker Factor podcast, Ian Riley talks to three women who are breaking the bias in the concrete industry - Nicole Campbell (Yorkton Concrete/Concrete Saskatchewan), Chen Yu (China Concrete Products Association) and Alana Guzzetta (US Concrete) - about their work, their experiences and their messages for women and girls looking to start a ca...

Ryan Cialdella of Ozinga talks to Ian Riley all things low carbon concrete - from prices, using new products for projects, interest in blended products, supply chain cooperation, and challenges present and future for the industry.

Ian Riley and Manon Burbidge reflect on their time at COP26, discussing the outcomes of the conference, and what the cement and concrete industry can learn, including setting targets to 2030, adaptation and resilience, finance, climate justice and the need for deep collaboration.

In this episode, Ian talks to Herb Burton of US Concrete, on everything low carbon concrete, including appetite for the product, need for investment, standardisation, the role of the cement sector and transparency.

Ian Riley talks to Liran Akavia, COO of Seebo, about how AI can improve efficiency and lower carbon emissions in the cement industry. The discussion takes us from what process-based AI is, the benefits it can have for the industry's decarbonisation efforts, how to implement it and what producers could gain in terms of better quality, better profitability and better efficiency.

In this episode, Ian talks to Dr Paula Carey, a Founding Director of Carbon8 Systems, the owner of a technology which uses mineralisation and carbonation to treat industrial residues such as cement bypass dust, using CO2 captured directly from flue gas, to produce a lightweight aggregate product. Ian and Paula discuss the science behind this process, the increasing applications and relevance of th...

In the fourth and final episode of our Technology and Decarbonisation mini-series with KHD, Ian Riley and Matthias Mersmann discuss the future of the cement industry, and the technologies that will help us reach net-zero. CCUS, circular economy, intensifying cooperation, oxyfuels and increasing efficiency all feature on this exciting road to decarbonisation ahead.

In this episode, Ian Riley turns the tables on Thomas Armstrong (ICR), Peter Edwards (Global Cement) and David Bizley (World Cement) covering an array of topics from the holistic viewpoint afforded to editors of cement trade magazines. This fascinating episode discusses the effects of COVID-19 on the cement and media industries, the future of conferences, careers in the cement industry, exciting n...

Join Ian Riley in this latest Clinker Factor podcast as he speaks to Chang-Ki Lee, Vice President of the Korea Cement Association. Key topics of discussion include the country's issues with overcapacity, the Korean industry's progress towards decarbonisation, and the price and demand for cement.

Amr Nadr, former VP for Strategy, Sustainability, and Risk at Yanbu Cement, Saudi Arabia, joins Ian in this episode to discuss cement sustainability in Saudi Arabia, the impacts of COVID on the cement industry, the importance of resilience, and Yanbu's new digitalisation transition programme.