Ambuja Cements partners with U.K.-based Leilac for low-carbon cement production

Ambuja Cements, the cement and building materials arm of the Adani Group, on Monday announced a partnership with U.K.-based clean technology company Leilac to develop one of the world’s largest commercial-scale pathways for low-carbon cement production at Sanghipuram in Gujarat’s Kutch district.

The collaboration marks a significant step in Ambuja Cements’ broader decarbonisation strategy and supports the company’s Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)-validated net-zero target for 2050, the Adani group company said in a statement.

As it accelerates the electrification of cement manufacturing and increases the use of renewable energy, supported by nearly 1 GW of captive green power capacity, the company is also laying the foundation for scaling breakthrough technologies such as carbon capture, the release noted.

The partnership is expected to improve the economics of carbon capture, thereby strengthening the business case for large-scale deployment of carbon capture and utilisation technologies.

“The cement industry’s transition to a lower-carbon future will require bold thinking, technological innovation and collaboration across the value chain,” said Karan Adani, Director, Ambuja Cements.

He added that the partnership with Leilac reflects the company’s commitment to evaluating next-generation technologies that can reduce process emissions, improve energy efficiency and support long-term sustainable growth.

“This initiative aligns with our vision of building world-class manufacturing operations for the future,” Adani said.

According to the company, the commercial demonstration project at Ambuja Cements’ 6.6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) Sanghi plant in Sanghipuram, Kutch, will assess the integration of Leilac’s carbon capture and hybrid electric heating technology. The project aims to enable lower-emission cement production through greater use of renewable electricity and the capture of unavoidable process carbon dioxide emissions.

The technology is designed to create a pathway toward eliminating coal consumption while allowing the flexible use of alternative fuels.

“We’re delighted to begin this collaboration to deliver a commercial-scale project for low-cost, low-carbon cement production,” said Daniel Rennie, CEO of Leilac.

Subject to successful demonstration, the project, expected to be the world’s largest industrial-scale facility of its kind, could be scaled up seven to eight times to capture more than one million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, the release highlighted. This would help establish a scalable model for low-carbon cement production in India and global markets, it added.

With a cement manufacturing capacity of 109 MTPA across 24 integrated plants and 22 grinding units, Ambuja Cements is advancing its decarbonisation agenda through investments in 1 GW of renewable energy capacity (solar and wind) and plans to install 376 MW of waste heat recovery systems (WHRS) by FY28.

Apart from its collaboration with Leilac, the company has also partnered with Coolbrook to deploy the zero-carbon RotoDynamic Heater (RDH) technology. Ambuja Cements has achieved 12 times water positivity and seven times plastic negativity and remains committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Ahead of the announcement, shares of Ambuja Cements ended 0.9% higher at ₹427.85 on the BSE, giving the company a market capitalisation of ₹1.05 lakh crore.