Holcim launches global Innovation Hub to accelerate sustainable building

Holcim announces the opening of its Innovation Hub to showcase its sustainable building solutions and serve as a co-creation lab to accelerate low-carbon, circular and energy-efficient building worldwide. Spread across three floors, the Hub offers working spaces to host startups and think tanks to accelerate innovation together. It will also serve as an urban dialogue platform to explore the future of sustainable cities and their construction via interactive exhibits and events.

Nollaig Forrest, Chief Sustainability Officer, Holcim: “It’s a very exciting time for the building sector, with so much momentum in innovation to advance sustainable solutions. At Holcim we want to partner with the best and brightest innovators to accelerate the transition to low carbon, circular and energy-efficient building. Our Innovation Hub, within our global R&D center, is designed to host partners from start-ups to architects to explore new solutions together.”

Miljan Gutovic, Region Head Europe, Holcim: “Holcim’s Global Innovation Hub is at the core of our decarbonization journey. Our R&D teams here are focused on driving low carbon formulation to scale up solutions like ECOPact, the world’s broadest range of low carbon concrete, all the way to ECOCycle, our circular technology platform recycling concrete into new materials to build cities from cities. Our Innovation hub is a great platform to put our expertise to work with our partners to scale up our impact.”

The Innovation Hub is located in Holcim’s Global R&D center in Lyon, France, where more than 200 researchers are dedicated to developing sustainable building solutions. Holcim’s experts cut across all fields of building, from masons and engineers, to material scientists and experts in artificial intelligence. The center is focused on leading research, from low-carbon formulation and circular construction all the way to green retrofitting for energy-efficient buildings in use.

The immersive showroom showcases how Holcim is decarbonizing building across its lifecycle, featuring:
• Low-carbon materials like ECOPact concrete and ECOPlanet cement;
• Roofing and insulation systems that drive energy efficiency, from Elevate boards to Airium;
• Circular construction solutions, such as Holcim’s proprietary ECOCycle circular technology platform to recycle construction demolition materials into new building solutions.

Through an annual program of events featuring startups, think tanks and working groups, Holcim’s Innovation Hub will foster forward-looking exchanges with key stakeholders across the construction value chain to accelerate the shift to sustainable building.

The Holcim Innovation Hub opened on 6 September 2023; professionals from the construction industry can visit it upon request.