EP #157: Low-Carbon Concrete - Does the Math Actually Work?

THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: GPRSBefore you cut, core, drill, or excavate, make sure you know what is inside the concrete.GPRS helps contractors locate rebar, conduit, post-tension cables, utilities, and other hidden hazards before they become expensive problems. Their scans help reduce hits, downtime, expenses, and keep your people safe. Learn more here: https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/gprs  ON THIS EPISODE OF THE CONCRETE LOGIC PODCAST Low-carbon cement sounds good on paper. But can it actually compete in the real concrete market without subsidies, mandates, or customers paying a “green premium”? That is the question Seth gets into with Ryan Gilliam, CEO of Fortera. Ryan explains how Fortera’s approach differs from many other low-carbon cement companies by bolting onto existing cement plants, using limestone as the feedstock, and turning CO₂ back into a reactive cementitious product. This conversation gets into the hard part of low-carbon cement: economics, field performance, scaling, ready-mix adoption, policy risk, and whether these products can survive when the market stops caring about the carbon story. Ryan makes the case that the future of low-carbon cement will not be built on guilt, regulation, or good intentions. It has to perform. It has to be cost competitive. And it has to work in the field.  WHAT YOU’LL LEARN • Why “green cement” usually makes contractors and producers assume there is a compromise • How Fortera’s technology bolts onto existing cement plants instead of replacing them • Why limestone loses roughly 44% of its weight as CO₂ during traditional cement production • How Fortera claims to turn that CO₂ back into cementitious material • Whether Fortera’s product should be thought of as an SCM, a cement replacement, or a new cement • Why ready-mix producers are skeptical of alternative cements • What field feedback Fortera has received on finishing, flow, pumping, set time, and cracking • Why Ryan does not believe customers will pay large green premiums • How policy changes could impact demand for low-carbon cement • Why carbon capture usually struggles economically • How Fortera’s approach differs from traditional carbon capture and storage • What has to be true for low-carbon cement companies to scale • Why first commercial plants are such a hard step for new cement technologies • Why Ryan believes performance, not carbon marketing, will decide which technologies survive  CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction to Ryan Gilliam and Fortera 03:25 Ryan’s background in materials engineering and cement research 05:20 Fortera’s approach to low-carbon cement 08:28 Is Fortera’s product an SCM or a new cement? 09:23 Blended cement use versus 100% product use 10:33 What is driving demand for low-carbon cement? 13:39 Scaling challenges for new cement technologies 15:43 Field feedback on alternative cement performance 18:58 Type IL rollout, skepticism, and contractor pushback 20:07 Policy risk and whether low-carbon demand depends on regulation 22:18 How Fortera captures CO₂ from limestone 23:07 Why the economics may work 24:41 How this differs from traditional carbon capture 25:45 What cement plants need to adopt the technology 28:07 Fortera’s history and lessons from earlier attempts 29:00 How Fortera may go to market 30:20 Ryan’s main takeaway for the concrete industry 32:09 How to contact Ryan Gilliam  GUEST INFO Ryan Gilliam CEO, Fortera Profile: https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/guests/ryan-gilliam/  CONCRETE LOGIC ACADEMY If you work in concrete and want practical education that actually connects to the jobsite, check out Concrete Logic Academy. This is not theory for the sake of theory. It is concrete education built around the stuff producers, contractors, engineers, and field leaders deal with every day. Specs. Mixes. Placement. Finishing. Troubleshooting. Materials. Durability. Bad assumptions. Costly mistakes. Get access here: https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/concreteschool  SUPPORT THE PODCAST Concrete Logic runs on a value-for-value model. If this episode helped you think through low-carbon cement, alternative cement technology, or what might actually work in the real market, send some value back. Donate here: https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/support/ You can also support the show through KUIU: https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/kuiu For sponsorship or media opportunities, contact: [email protected]  CREDITS Producers: Jodi Tandett & Concrete Logic Media Music: Mike Dunton https://www.mdunton.com/  WHERE TO FIND SETH Concrete Logic Podcast: https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@concretelogicpodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seth-tandett/ Like, subscribe, comment, and share the episode with someone in the concrete industry who needs to hear it.(Correction: At the 33:42 mark, Ryan referenced testing that reported a compressive strength of 10,000 psi. After recording, the testing result was later determined to be incorrect. The corrected result was approximately 6,000 psi.)