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Lower clinker factor and CO₂
Lower cost and energy use
Multiple SCM types, one system
Stable quality under variability
Reliable path from first trials to scale-up
Lower clinker. Lower cost. Lower CO₂. Supplementary cementitious materials remain one of the clearest paths to cut emissions, reduce production costs, and use resources more effectively - without sacrificing cement quality.
But the world did not deliver one predictable SCM future. It delivered dozens - each with different chemistry, hydraulic or pozzolanic activity, moisture, handling behaviour, and local availability. The right SCM strategy is never one-size-fits-all, and most plants were not designed for that level of material complexity and variability.
That is where Fuller comes in. We help you evaluate the material, define the right process path, select the equipment, and support stable operation as substitution rates increase - from today's practical gains toward tomorrow's lower-clinker targets. And we stay with you from first evaluation to long-term performance.
The next step in clinker reduction is not about naming more SCM types. It is about making more of them usable - within the same plant, quality target, and operating envelope
What usually gets in the way is not one issue, but several at once: material variability that outpaces current qualification, grinding systems that cannot flex for different material mixes, moisture and handling challenges with unfamiliar feeds, and not enough process visibility to respond as conditions shift. Leave any one unresolved, and substitution rates stay stuck.
SCM readiness for Fuller means approaching these constraints as a complete system - combining material testing, chemistry insight, grinding and activation know-how, dosing, handling, and process control. Not as isolated fixes, but as one connected engineering response.
That is how broader SCM portfolios become practical lower-clinker operations instead of difficult one-off trials.
SCMs do not enter the plant with the same chemistry, reactivity, grindability, or supply profile. Hydraulic SCMs such as slag can react directly, while pozzolanic SCMs such as fly ash, calcined clays, and natural pozzolans rely on clinker hydration and build strength more gradually. Limestone sits in a category of its own, contributing through particle packing while still playing a key role in lower-clinker cement.
The landscape is also shifting. Slag and fly ash remain important in many markets, but their long-term availability is becoming less predictable. Calcined clays, natural pozzolans, and limestone are expanding the SCM portfolio but they introduce greater variability in moisture, particle size distribution, and process respons.
Fuller works across all of them - helping you qualify, process, and control whichever mix your market and supply chain demand.
| Type of SCM | Source | Availability | Grindability | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hydraulic SCMs | GBFS | By-product of steel production | Available in industrialised countries, but as iron and steel production grows more efficient, availability of GBFS will diminish. | High, varies between 120 – 200% of clinker | Can be substituted up to 100% and is commonly used at very high replacement levels. |
| Pozzolanic SCMs | Fly ash | By-product of coal combustion for power | Around 900 million tpy available, but only around a third is of high enough quality for cement and concrete use. | Low to moderate, around 30% of clinker | Important today, but not a long-term universal solution as coal-fired power declines and supply fragments by market. |
| Calcined clays | Naturally occurring worldwide | Widely available, sometimes even stockpiled as waste from ceramics manufacturing. | Easy, less than 30% of clinker | A strong substitution route, but real-world performance still depends on clay quality, moisture, activation, and PSD control. | |
| Natural pozzolans | Naturally occurring worldwide | Availability and applicability vary by region and deposit. | Varies, 30 – 100% of clinker | Can be very abrasive and may require finer particle size and careful process design. | |
| Limestone | Naturally occurring worldwide | Widely available | Low, around 30% of clinker | Use as a filler is regulated in varying amounts from 5 – 35% and has been proven in greater quantities with proper grinding. |
As substitution rates rise, the challenge is not eliminating variability. It is responding to it fast enough. A moisture spike, an LOI swing, a chemistry shift, or PSD drift can hit plant scale in minutes. If your system cannot see those changes and respond in time, substitution rates stay fragile.
Fuller closes that gap with process control, optimisation, and data-driven tools that help operators hold performance under real conditions. ECS/ProcessExpert already delivers this across your cement production process - measuring inline, predicting impact, and adjusting in real time. Our R&D efforts with DETOCS extend the same logic forward, connecting plant data, cement chemistry, and predictive models to support even higher SCM use with confidence.
This is not digitalisation for its own sake. It is the engineering layer that protects quality, stability, and margin as your clinker factor falls.
Material Suitability And Chemistry
Grinding And Classification Strategy
Drying, Conveying, And Material Handling
Precision Dosing And Blending
Calcined Clay Activation
Process Control And Optimisation
From material screening and process studies to retrofit design, commissioning, and ongoing support - we help you move SCM strategies from concept to dependable operation. Whether you are building a new line or improving an existing one, our OEM expertise covers grinding, activation, dosing, control, and maintenance across the full flowsheet.
With Fuller, your SCM strategy is backed by the same team that designed the process, built the equipment, and operates alongside you when conditions change.
From material qualification and process design to upgrades, optimisation, and ongoing support, Fuller helps turn SCM strategy into stable plant performance
Confirm material viability, process fit, and expected performance before major decisions are made.
Implement the right process path with OEM-backed engineering and start-up support.
OEM expertise to improve performance under real operating conditions
Not every promising SCM is the right fit for your plant, your process, or your target product. Testing helps confirm chemistry, reactivity, emissions, grinding behaviour, and product quality before capital is at stake. At our Dania R&D centre in Denmark, we combine raw material screening, chemistry and mineralogy analysis, emissions assessment, pilot-scale testing, and blended-cement performance testing. From material viability to final product quality — the answers come before the capital commitment. Our Pneumatic Conveying Test Laboratory in Pennsylvania adds flow and transport validation - testing your actual material under real conveying conditions, sizing equipment, and resolving handling risks at test scale — not on the plant floor.
The strongest SCM strategy is the one your plant can run consistently. That means aligning material opportunity with the right testing, process design, equipment, and control response - and keeping it all stable as your SCM mix evolves. That is what Fuller brings together. Material qualification. Grinding strategy. Activation know-how. Handling and dosing. Digital control. Lifecycle support. Not as a menu of options - but as one connected system aimed at getting you further on clinker substitution with less risk. The lower-clinker future is not a destination that has been reached. It is being engineered - plant by plant, material by material. Fuller's ongoing R&D, including work on predictive control of low-clinker blends, is building the next layer of that capability. And where the system is already proven at scale, calcined clay shows what becomes possible.
1200+TPD
Capacity (400,000+ tpa)
-20%CO2
vs current practices
50%Energy
less than clinker
30%Clinker
Replaced with calcined clay
CBI Ghana, alongside major shareholder Heidelberg Materials, commissioned the world's largest clay flash calciner to reduce dependency on expensive clinker imports. Fuller supplied the complete calcination system - including color control, heat recuperation, precision feeding, process control, and packing.
The plant produces both LC3-45 and LC3-60 cement, crafted with 40-55% locally sourced materials. With process related emissions for the calcined clay of just ~80 kgCO₂/t, equivalent to 90% less than clinker, CBI Ghana's LC3 cements also deliver higher compressive strength from 7 days onwards, with enhanced durability.
Kobby Adams, Commercial Director, CBI Ghana
525TPD
capacity calcined clay
-16%CO2
at plant dispatch
48500 CO2 Saved
tons/year
100%Compliance
strictest EU standards
Fuller delivered Europe's first industrial-scale clay flash calciner installation for Vicat at their Xeuilley plant. The project tackles non-kaolinitic, high-iron smectitic clay - a challenging feedstock requiring Greymax™ color control to achieve consistent cement-grey product.
The installation includes full emission controls (scrubber, RTO, SCR) meeting the strictest EU standards, alternative fuel capability using refuse-derived fuels, and saves 48,500 metric tons of CO₂ annually.
Vicat Project Team
Calcined clay: test before you invest
Testing, testing – how material and pilot scale testing helps confirm clay suitability for eco cement: Fuller experts describe the material testing necessary to determine if a particular clay is suitable to process into eco-friendly cement.
CBI Ghana: Calcined clay
Calcined clay has the potential to save up to 40% of the CO2 emissions by replacing 30% of energy intensive clinker in cement production.
Calcined clay: test before you invest
Testing, testing – how material and pilot scale testing helps confirm clay suitability for eco cement: Fuller experts describe the material testing necessary to determine if a particular clay is suitable to process into eco-friendly cement.
CBI Ghana: Calcined clay
Calcined clay has the potential to save up to 40% of the CO2 emissions by replacing 30% of energy intensive clinker in cement production.
REPRINT from International Cement Review, April 2026. Rasmus Franklin Momme, Morten Østergaard and Steven Miller, Fuller Technologies, explore the first-of-its-kind installation of calcined clay technology at Vicat’s Xeuilley Cement Plant in France.
12.05.2026 |
6.39 MB |
English
09.05.2024 |
653.45 KB |
English
