Background and scope:
Cement is the largest manufactured product in the world by mass. In 2022 humans produced 4,2 billion tons of it (about 626 kg per capita). Combined with water, sand and aggregates cement is the glue to form concrete. Aside from water, there is no material we use more than concrete. Contractors can combine concrete with steel reinforcement bars to mould and create the build environment in which we experience our lives. The industry is interrelated with other major sectors such as energy and steel. Its supply chains are vast, deeply complex, with increasing degrees of fragmentation going downstream. This complexity is also reflected in the many ways cement and concrete markets can be (sub-) segmented, for example by cement use (concrete, mortar, etc.), concrete use (reinforced, non-reinforced, ready-mix, precast products, etc.), end-use (residential, non-residential, infrastructural, energy, etc.) to name a few.
Cement and concrete are versatile, low-cost, abundant and relatively local. Modern societies are hard to imagine without these materials. Realistically, cement and concrete are here to stay. Then again, current mainstream cement and concrete technologies are also the source of 8% of our CO2 emissions (about 600 kg per capita), which are "embodied" in our buildings and infrastructures.
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