Today's guest is Dr. Leah Ellis, CEO and co-founder of Sublime Systems, which is using electrochemistry to make cement and in doing so claims to have a pathway to reduce the emissions footprint of cement production by 60-90%.
Cement is the most abundant man-made material on earth, with billions of tons produced yearly. So far the primary pathway to reducing its emissions footprint is via point source carbon capture otherwise defined as collecting the greenhouse gasses that are emitted as part of the process of breaking down limestone to make cement. But those gasses are diffuse and mixed in with a bunch of other stuff which makes capturing pure greenhouse gas streams hard and expensive. Heating the limestone up to the point of it breaking down requires extremely high temperatures and coal.
Dr. Ellis and Sublime took a totally different approach to the problem. Instead of heating up the limestone, the company figured out ways to use chemistry to break it down, even if that requires a lot of electricity. Leah and her co-founder used their backgrounds in EV battery chemistry and have invented a method that essentially turns a cement plant into an electric-distributed energy resource.
This conversation with Cody and Leah is an eye-opener as they spent a bunch of time digging into how climate solutions can be tackled by outsiders who apply cross-functional learnings to big problems. Leah is incredibly knowledgeable and her unique experience in the "electrify everything" movement highlights what that might mean at an industrial scale. Enjoy!
In this episode, we cover:
[3:14] An overview of cement and associated GHG emissions
[9:52] The role of coal in making cement
[11:44] Relevant terminology
[14:22] Different types of cement
[16:12] Leah's background in EV batteries and electrochemistry
[18:52] Her co-founder Yet-Ming Chiang
[22:36] How the idea of electrochemical cement came together
[27:01] An overview of Sublime Systems
[30:41] The company's inputs and outputs
[33:18] Legacy cement manufacturers and their path to net zero commitments
[38:12] Alternative feedstocks to limestone
[40:41] The big catalyst for Sublime Systems
[44:23] How Leah is talking to legacy cement companies and Sublime's potential business models
[47:31] How companies can pay for green premiums
[49:15] Need for external measurements for carbon reduction and LCAs
[51:43] Sublime's production today, their future roadmap, and open positions
Visit our website for a full transcript of this episode.
Get connected:
Cody Simms LinkedIn / Twitter
Leah Ellis / Sublime Systems
MCJ Podcast / Collective
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Episode recorded on October 21, 2022
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