Dublin, 11 November 2026: Ecocem, Cairn, Kilsaran and University College Dublin today showcased a scale demonstrator of Ecocem’s ACT low-carbon cement technology at Cairn’s Innovation Hub at Seven Mills in Dublin 22. The project brings together Irish industry and research to test how lower-carbon cement performs in Irish conditions and to build the evidence needed to support its certification and wider adoption in Ireland.
ACT is Ecocem’s low-clinker cement technology, developed over more than ten years at the company’s research and innovation centre near Paris. It has been shown to deliver up to 70% lower CO₂ emissions than conventional European cement while integrating with existing cement manufacturing, concrete production and construction processes. Importantly, it has been designed to be cost-competitive with conventional cement and does not carry a green premium.
Michael Stanley, CEO of Cairn (left) with Donal O’Riain, Founder and CEO of Ecocem, Peter Burke TD, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Susan McGarry, Ecocem’s Director of Public Affairs and Sustainability and David McKeown, Co-CEO of Kilsaran.
While ACT is expected to be covered in the revised European cement standard in 2027, its wider use in structural concrete in Ireland will also require recognition under the Irish National Annex to EN 206. With the support of the Department of Enterprise, NSAI are developing a new Standards Recommendation for cementitious binders, such as ACT, targeted for publication within the next year. This could provide a potential route to market for ACT in Ireland by 2028, subject to the necessary regulatory and standards approvals.
The two-storey demonstrator at Cairn’s Innovation Hub is a standalone scale structure. The Innovation Hub is Cairn’s dedicated facility at Seven Mills for assessing new technologies and construction methods outside the confines of live construction projects. It brings together supply chain partners, academia, designers, manufacturers and technology providers to turn promising ideas into practical solutions for home delivery.
Michael Stanley, CEO of Cairn (left) with Donal O’Riain, Founder and CEO of Ecocem, Peter Burke TD, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Susan McGarry, Ecocem’s Director of Public Affairs and Sustainability and David McKeown, Co-CEO of Kilsaran
The demonstrator has been developed through a consortium involving Irish-founded Ecocem, Cairn, Kilsaran and University College Dublin. Kilsaran is contributing concrete production expertise across the ready-mix and precast elements of the demonstrator, including precast components manufactured at its Oranmore facility.
The project was part-funded by a €50,000 award from Construct Innovate’s Seed Fund. Initial results show that the concrete achieved its required strength after 28 days, as expected and that it is equal to traditional cement in terms of durability and lifespan.
Today’s event is an Associated Event of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Peter Burke TD, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, delivered an address to representatives from the project partners and the wider construction, research and policy communities.
The Irish demonstrator comes amid wider European policy and industrial momentum behind ACT. In October, France’s Minister Delegate for Industry, Sébastien Martin, described ACT as a world-leading innovation with the potential to transform the industry and confirmed that the French Government had backed ACT and supported Ecocem’s Dunkirk facility through the France 2030 programme.
Ecocem and CB Green are investing €50 million in the world’s first dedicated ACT production facility in Dunkirk, which is scheduled to become operational in early 2027 with annual capacity of 300,000 tonnes. ACT has already been deployed across more than 40 projects in Europe, from demonstration projects through to commercial-scale deployments including a 150-unit residential complex near Paris.
Peter Burke TD, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, said: “Ireland holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and competitiveness and decarbonisation are central to Europe’s industrial future. The work being demonstrated here, using innovative low-carbon cement technology, shows how we can significantly reduce industrial emissions while continuing to deliver the homes and infrastructure both Ireland and Europe need. Construct Innovate is central to facilitating this type of innovation and collaboration.”
Donal O’Riain, Founder and CEO of Ecocem
Donal O’Riain, Founder and CEO of Ecocem, said: “Ireland can deliver the homes and infrastructure it needs with significantly lower carbon emissions. This project demonstrates that the technology to rapidly and cost-effectively decarbonise cement already exists and integrates with the manufacturing and construction processes used today. Ecocem’s ACT can reduce cement emissions by up to 70%, without a green premium, and is already being deployed commercially in France and the UK.
“With cement production accounting for a significant proportion of Ireland’s industrial emissions, accelerating the adoption of low-carbon cement is critical to meeting our climate targets. As Europe looks to accelerate demand for lower-carbon materials, Ireland can show what that ambition looks like in practice.”
Michael Stanley, CEO of Cairn, said: “Innovation and the testing of new technologies and methods, is central to building sustainable homes at scale in Ireland. This low-carbon cement innovation is a practical example of what can be achieved in partnership, testing and advancing new materials that have real impact, in this case, to reduce embodied carbon in Irish homebuilding and progress the sector’s overall performance on sustainability.
Our Innovation Hub provides a dedicated space to bring partners and new ideas together, facilitating the testing and trialling of the innovations and modern methodologies, that will shape the homes of the future.”
David McKeown, Co-CEO of Kilsaran, said: “Concrete producers have a central role in reducing the carbon impact of construction, bringing the expertise needed to turn new cement technologies into concrete that meets the demands of manufacturing and building on site.
“At this Innovation Hub, we are applying that expertise across both ready-mix and precast concrete, working with our project partners to assess ACT in production and construction. Demonstrating that lower-carbon concrete can meet the standards required for strength, quality and practical use is an important step towards wider adoption.”
Ciaran McNally, Associate Professor, UCD, added: “Moving new construction technologies towards wider adoption requires robust evidence of how they perform in real-world conditions. This Ecocem demonstrator allows us to assess ACT concrete in a scale structure alongside detailed laboratory testing, helping to build the evidence base around its performance and potential application in Ireland.”
Ends
Notes to editors
About the demonstrator
The project, Evidence and Demonstration for the Adoption of New Low-Carbon Cement Technologies in the Irish Market, received €50,000 through Construct Innovate’s Seed Fund. It brings together UCD as lead research-performing organisation with industry partners Ecocem, Cairn and Kilsaran, supported by project collaborators Egis, Kwik RC Frames and Extreme Balconies. The project combines the construction of a scale demonstrator at Cairn’s Innovation Hub at Seven Mills with laboratory testing and technical assessment to support wider certification and adoption of alternative cementitious materials and binders in Ireland.
About Ecocem
Ecocem is a global leader in low-carbon cement technologies. For more than 25 years, it has pioneered lower-carbon cement, combining industrial-scale manufacturing with significant and sustained investment in research and innovation. Headquartered in Dublin, Ecocem has four production facilities — one in Ireland, one in the Netherlands and two in France — and two terminals in the UK, with total annual production capacity of 2.4 million tonnes. The company generated revenues of approximately €230 million in 2024, and the use of its technologies has helped avoid an estimated 19 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions.
Ecocem technologies have been used on major projects including Grand Paris Express, the Paris 2024 Athletes’ Village, HS2, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Aviva Stadium. Its breakthrough ACT technology can reduce the carbon footprint of cement by up to 70% while delivering the performance the construction industry requires. Designed to be cost competitive and compatible with existing production and construction processes, ACT is being developed for deployment at scale.
Ecocem is undertaking a €220 million investment programme in Europe to support the commercial-scale deployment of ACT by 2030, as part of its ambition to accelerate the decarbonisation of the global cement industry.
About Cairn
Cairn is an Irish homebuilder committed to building high-quality, competitively priced, sustainable new homes and communities in great locations. At Cairn, the homeowner is at the very centre of the design process. We strive to provide unparalleled customer service throughout each stage of the home-buying journey. A new Cairn home is expertly designed, with a focus on creating shared spaces and environments where communities thrive.
About Kilsaran
Founded in 1964, Kilsaran is Ireland’s largest independent manufacturer of concrete and asphalt products. Headquartered in Dunboyne, County Meath, the family-owned company employs more than 1,100 people and supplies construction materials and solutions for infrastructure, commercial, residential and agricultural projects across Ireland and the UK.
Kilsaran operates across six core business areas: Concrete Products and Aggregates; Paving and Walling; KPRO Facades and Mortars; Precast; Road Surfacing and Contracting; and Materials Recovery and Recycling. The company’s operations span raw material extraction, manufacturing and supply, with a focus on innovation, reducing emissions and developing lower-carbon construction materials.
