The issue is not “innovation vs. industry.” The real question is: how do we decarbonize at scale without increasing construction costs?

And to achieve that, we sometimes need to act where it truly matters: on the recipe — that of a 200-year-old material.

This week, I have the honor of being featured, alongside my brother Charles Neuville, in the Decarbonization column of Les Echos Week-End.

A strong recognition for MATERRUP Low Carbon & Circular Cements… but above all, for a deeply rooted industrial conviction.

Cement is the second most used material in the world, right after water..

But it is also responsible for 7% of global CO₂ emissions.

As Les Échos points out, you can “optimize kilns.

Change fuels.

But nearly two-thirds of emissions come from the raw material itself: limestone.”

So one question became unavoidable:

What if the problem lies in the recipe?

At MATERRUP, we made a bold choice:

to place clay at the heart of cement.

A local, abundant, and largely underutilized resource.

In France, 100 million tons of clay are excavated each year without industrial valorization.

Thanks to our “Cold Activated Clay Cement (CCC®)” technology, based on cold activation

through a multi-patented mechano-chemical process, without firing,​

nwe generate pozzolanic reactivity equivalent — or even superior — to that of calcined clay, supérieure — à celle de l’argile calcinée,

without kilns, without combustion, without decarbonation.

Concretely, this enables:

_ up to 70% clinker substitution

– the same mechanical performance

– the same on-site applications

– a market-compatible price

➡️ with a cement that has half the carbon footprint.

Since the inauguration of our first plant in 2022, MATERRUP cement has been used on more than 500 construction sites,

and has already enabled the pouring of tens of thousands of cubic meters of concrete,

by craftsmen, SMEs, and major construction groups alike.​

Today, it paves the way for a decentralized industrial model,

rooted in local territories, in France and across Europe.

Defending decarbonization in the construction sector at the right price

is not about greening the existing system.

It means being willing to change what once seemed immutable.

Thank you to Pierre FORTIN and the Les Échos editorial team for highlighting our industrial approach.
Lien article : https://www.lesechos.fr/weekend/planete/decarbonation-materrup-introduit-de-largile-dans-la-recette-du-beton-2212465