CarbonZero 2026 blended technical insight with strategic vision: a space where research met reality, and where innovation found its path to implementation.
The Tangla Hotel in Brussels set the stage as experts, innovators and industry leaders from around the world gathered for the CarbonZero Global Conference & Exhibition 2026. For two conference days, preceded by an exclusive technical visit, Brussels became a meeting point for bold ideas, practical solutions and forward-looking dialogue on how the cement and construction industries can accelerate the race toward carbon neutrality.
Technical Visit – Where Ambition Meets Concrete
The programme opened on 27 October with an exclusive visit to Holcim Belgium’s plant in Obourg, home of the GO4ZERO project. Twenty-five VIP ticket holders travelled by bus from the Tangla Hotel for a welcome and presentation of GO4ZERO by Claudia Albertini and Stany Vaes of Holcim Belgium.
After safety equipment was handed out, delegates toured the operating cement plant and the GO4ZERO construction site with Stany Vaes and Nicolas Grégoire. Seeing a large-scale carbon capture project take shape on the ground gave the whole conference a tangible reference point.
Day 1 – Fuelling the Transition
The conference opened on 28 October with a welcome from Beatrice Ene, Managing Director & Head of Events at Industry Link, who set the tone for collaboration and optimism. Dr. Stefan Puntke of Refratechnik Cement GmbH, our Platinum Sponsor, followed with a welcome note on the core business of the cement industry.
The opening keynote session put alternative fuels at the centre of the net-zero transition. Stany Vaes of Holcim Belgium showed how the GO4ZERO case pulls every available decarbonisation lever at once, while Alexander Makhlay of Argus Media mapped global cement and clinker trade and market developments.
The morning then turned to kilns and energy systems. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Klischat of Refratechnik Cement GmbH argued that reducing CO2 and improving profitability go hand in hand. A panel on scaling alternative fuels brought together Nikos Nikolakakos of Cement Europe, Adriana Fernandez of UNIDO and Herve Camerlynck of FEBELCEM, followed by industry case studies from Arabian Cement Company, ABB and Cementos La Cruz on thermal substitution, AI-driven plant control and the ERACLITUS material innovation project.
The afternoon widened the lens. Speakers from WTEnergy Advanced Solutions and Gebr. Pfeiffer explored fuel handling and process optimisation, before a panel moderated by Beatrice Ene showed how PORR Construct Romania, European Metals and Resourcefull are turning waste streams, including iron silicate slag, into valuable resources, from slag to slab.
The final session, moderated by Philippe Richart of the World Cement Association, examined the policy and market framework. Kerry Sutton of NEU, Maria del Mar Rojas of the Science Based Targets initiative and Leon de Graaf of the Business Advisors for CBAM Coalition looked at how low-carbon concrete, the Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0, CBAM and the revised EU ETS are reshaping the decarbonisation agenda.
As the day drew to a close, the Awards Ceremony celebrated the sector’s achievements and acknowledged the leadership and the projects that set the direction towards decarbonization.
Day 2 – From Vision to Action
Day 2 began with a look beyond clinker. Dr. Hongyan Ma of Missouri University of Science and Technology presented carbon mineralisation as a route to carbon-negative cementitious materials, while Sumit Srivastava of the CRH Innovation Centre traced a century of evolution in cement and SCMs, from performance-driven to resource-driven binder design.
This momentum carried into a panel moderated by Cobi Busst of Beaumont Bailey, with Quentin Philippe (Alithic), Loren Burnett (Prometheus Materials) and Jean-Philippe Benard (TITAN Group) discussing raw material strategy and the leadership needed to build SCM teams at scale.
Technical sessions followed with real-world examples. Limak Cement shared its research on limestone calcined clay cement with boron-activated clinker, Franz Heller of Firefly AB addressed fire prediction, prevention and protection, and Paolo Mazzei of FCT Group spoke on mitigation and adaptation through cement and concrete.
The afternoon delved into carbon capture, utilisation and storage. Vincent Michel, former GO4ZERO Programme Director, shared lessons from executing large-scale CCS in the cement and sugar industries. Irene Dominguez Perez of Bellona Europa asked whether concrete carbonation is a climate solution or an accounting illusion, and Elena Rubio Portillo of CEMEX spoke about leading capture projects from ambition to execution. Duncan McLachlan of io Consulting and Georg Locher of Schwenk Cement addressed how to prioritise CCS versus CCU, given infrastructure readiness and renewable energy constraints. The panel was moderated by Salman Muhammad of Carbon Management Europe.
The focus then moved to money and markets. Dr. Josilene Ferrer shared insights on carbon markets from China and the challenges for Brazil, Luyue Tan of the London Stock Exchange Group presented carbon as the new currency, and Marta Diez of CFP Energy joined the discussion on financing and commercialising low-carbon cement. Together, these sessions illustrated how technology, finance and governance are converging.
A CEO & Executive Roundtable with Claudia Albertini of Holcim Belgium and Jean-Philippe Benard of TITAN Group, moderated by Beatrice Ene, explored how to lead the transition to a competitive, climate-resilient cement industry. Jacob Moos of McKinsey then closed the conference with a session on moving from innovation to deployment.
Looking Ahead
As the conference came to a close, one message ran through every session: the road to net zero is not only a technological transition, but a cultural and collective one.
CarbonZero 2026 ended with a sense of shared purpose, proof that while challenges remain, collaboration and courage are already paving the way toward carbon-neutral cement and concrete.
Our thanks go to Platinum Sponsor Refratechnik Cement GmbH, to Holcim Belgium for hosting the technical visit, and to all speakers, moderators and delegates.
From Brussels, the message was clear: the industry’s transformation is not ahead of us, it has begun.
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