Tánaiste Leo Varadkar of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment met with the team in Ecocem France and Ecocem Ireland Ltd, Managing Director, Susan McGarry today as part of his three-day trade mission to France. Ecocem France has a joint venture in France with French steelmaker ArcelorMittal, ensuring a sustainable long term agreement to source GGBS (ground–granulated blast furnace slag), a by-product of the steel industry, utilised by Ecocem to manufacture Ecocem cement.
Speaking about the trade mission, An Tánaiste said: “Sustainability must be a priority for all of us, as we decarbonise our economies and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. Ecocem is a pioneer in this field, developing, manufacturing, and supplying the lowest carbon cement ever used in Europe at scale. Ecocem’s ambitious growth and investment targets in France are to be commended. Having established two French manufacturing facilities in Fos-sur-Mer and Dunkirk, co-founded the MC²E laboratory in partnership with INSA Toulouse and Paris Saclay, and opened its centre of excellence in Champlin, Ecocem’s commitment to France serves as an example for other Irish businesses looking to expand into this attractive market.”
The consortium of Cairn, UCD, Kilsaran, and Ecocem has secured €50,000 in funding from Construct Innovate, Ireland’s national Construction Technology Centre, to validate an innovative low-carbon cement capable of significantly cutting Ireland’s CO2 emissions from the construction sector.
Tata Steel IJmuiden (TSIJ) and Ecocem Materials Ltd. (Ecocem) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their collaboration on the development and potential use of two next-generation steelmaking slags in low‑carbon cement, mortar, and concrete applications across Europe.
