Reclinker

Reclinker is transforming demolition waste into the world’s first zero-emission cement, unlocking a circular solution to decarbonise one of the most carbon-intensive industries.

Cement production accounts for 7.5% of total carbon emissions and is one of the world’s most urgent and hardest industries to decarbonise.

Founded in 2022 by Bill Yost and Poppy Brewer alongside University of Cambridge researchers Prof. Cyrille Dunant and Dr Philippa Horton, Reclinker is transforming how cement is made by turning demolition waste into a fully circular, low-carbon resource. Commercialising pioneering research from the University of Cambridge, the company has developed the world’s first process for producing low-carbon, recycled cement through existing steel recycling infrastructure.

Reclinker’s breakthrough process recovers cement paste from end-of-life concrete waste and reactivates it within electric arc furnaces (EAFs) used for steel recycling, creating new clinker without disrupting steel production. By eliminating both the kiln-related energy and calcination emissions associated with conventional cement production, the process tackles the industry’s two largest sources of carbon emissions simultaneously. Because EAFs can be powered by low carbon electricity, the process provides a route to fully decarbonised cement production.

The resulting clinker is chemically equivalent to that produced through traditional methods, enabling rapid adoption while leveraging global infrastructure. This creates a faster and more cost-effective route to scaling low-carbon cement than building entirely new manufacturing systems. Importantly for steelmakers it transforms a waste stream, EAF slag, into a co-product eliminating storage and disposal costs.

In 2022, the Innovate UK–funded Cement 2 Zero project awarded £6.5 million to trial the technology at scale, alongside EPSRC who provided funding to support the underpinning research. Since then, Reclinker has raised a £2.25 million seed round to industrialise production of its sustainable cement at 7 Steel UK’s EAF facility in Cardiff. The company is now raising a Series A round to scale up operations across the UK and abroad.

By turning demolished buildings into the raw materials for the next generation of construction, Reclinker is demonstrating that a fully circular, zero-emission cement industry is not only possible but within reach.