Why Cement Is at the Heart of Europe’s Big Transitions

Cement isn’t often the centre of public debate. Yet it sits at the heart of Europe’s economy, powering growth, enabling the clean transition, and sustaining high-quality jobs in regions that depend on strong industrial ecosystems.

At a time when Europe is rethinking its competitiveness and industrial resilience, understanding the cement sector’s current economic contribution is more important than ever.

A European value chain supporting local economies

Across Europe, cement is produced through a fully local value chain: more than 200 plants supplying nearby communities with the materials needed to build homes, schools, hospitals, transport networks and clean-energy infrastructure.

Each plant anchors a regional ecosystem, from quarrying and transport to construction and engineering, sustaining thousands of industrial and skilled jobs. These are high-quality, long-term roles rooted in local economies, providing stability at a moment when many regions are experiencing structural change. 

An essential enabler of the clean transition

Today, cement plays a central role in Europe’s biggest transition priorities:

• Renewables: wind turbine foundations, hydro dams and solar infrastructure
• Energy security: grid expansion, hydrogen, thermal storage
• Digital and industrial capacity: data centres, battery gigafactories, manufacturing sites
• Climate-resilient infrastructure: transport corridors, water systems, flood protection

The clean transition cannot be delivered without cement, and this makes the sector’s competitiveness a strategic concern for Europe.

 Competitiveness under pressure

Despite its essential role, Europe’s cement industry faces mounting pressure:

• Imports have quadrupled since 2016, produced in regions with lower environmental standards.
• Exports have dropped by more than 50% over the same period. 
• Energy prices remain structurally higher than in competing economies.
• Decarbonisation costs are rising as companies invest in breakthrough technologies.

The risk is clear: without the right conditions, Europe could lose domestic production capacity and with it, jobs, investment, and control over a vital supply chain. This is not just an industrial issue. It is a strategic one.

A competitive transition needs competitive conditions

Europe’s cement industry is ready to invest. More than 120 innovation projects are already ongoing across the continent, from carbon capture to alternative fuels, circular materials, and carbon removals.

But for these projects to move from pilot scale to reality, Europe needs:

• A watertight CBAM to ensure fair competition
• Affordable, clean energy and access to alternative fuels
• Clear rules and business-planning certainty under ETS
• CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure at scale
• Funding and de-risking tools that make final investment decisions possible
• Lead markets that provide a push for low-carbon products
• A skilled workforce ready for tomorrow’s technologies

These are the enablers that turn ambition into deployment and safeguard cement’s role in Europe’s economy.