Cost-effective, zero-carbon cement produced via electrochemistry.
THE CHALLENGE
Sublime Systems was looking for help siting their pilot manufacturing facility and positioning the company for future state support. To deliver low-carbon cement, Sublime needed access to affordable, clean electricity. Ideally, they would be able to complete a round trip between the location and their headquarters in one day.
THE SOLUTION
The Engine’s public affairs support helped Sublime identify a site and engage local leaders to secure their first pilot manufacturing facility in Holyoke, MA, where the company could easily connect to carbon-free hydropower to produce their clean cement.
“The Engine has gone above and beyond in providing invaluable public affairs services. Their holistic approach to support has been pivotal in expanding our network and commercial growth prospects”
Joe HickenSVP Business Development and Policy, Sublime Systems
The mass of man-made things now exceeds the dry mass of all living things on Earth — and half of that mass is concrete. The environmental toll is equally as vast. For every new kilogram of concrete's essential ingredient, cement, roughly one kilogram of CO2 is released into the atmosphere, accounting for 8% of global carbon emissions.
To build a sustainable future for America — rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, re-industrializing our neglected communities, and expanding our housing capacity — we need a more sustainable concrete foundation.
That foundation is here. In May 2025, Microsoft announced plans to buy 622,500 tons of low-carbon cement to lower its corporate emissions and build critical infrastructure, such as new data centers. That's enough cement to build roughly 31 NFL stadiums. The supplier? Sublime Systems, pioneers of an alternative cement technology that has the potential to lower carbon emissions by 90% compared to the portland cement used as the base for most concrete today.
Portland cement is made by cooking limestone, sand and clay in massive coal-fired kilns running at 1450°C, a process in which half the limestone is wasted in the air as CO2 emissions. In contrast, Sublime Cement® forgoes the energy-intensive kiln entirely with a room-temperature electrochemical process that eliminates waste and extracts critical minerals in the process. If powered by renewable energy, Sublime's manufacturing avoids carbon emissions.
The technology promises to create a circular economy for cement. The electrochemical process can start with abundant natural minerals or industrial waste that would otherwise be landfilled — slag from steelmaking, kiln ashes and dust, and even old demolished concrete.
The idea is a game-changer for the sustainability of the construction industry. But in order to meet the massive demand that would come from Microsoft and other large-scale projects, Sublime needed their first commercial facility to retire scale-up risk. In the fall of 2022, Sublime Systems engaged The Engine for help securing a site to build their first commercial manufacturing plant.
The Engine’s public affairs support team gave valuable feedback on Sublime’s initial list of city/site options, and provided helpful introductions to some initial candidates, one of which was Holyoke, MA. Sublime conducted an independent site survey using a real estate advisory firm, and Holyoke ended up surfacing as a top prospect.
Holyoke was ideal for several reasons. First, the city is served by a municipal utility — Holyoke Gas & Electric — whose electric supply is almost entirely met through carbon-free hydroelectric power that once fueled the city’s thriving paper industry. This would allow Sublime to demonstrate the promise of their technology in a timely fashion, with interconnection to the electric grid significantly faster outside of major utility. Second, as a Gateway City, Holyoke is among a group of communities in which the state is trying to promote economic development through projects like Sublime’s.
“I grew up in western Massachusetts and represented communities a lot like Holyoke in the State Senate,” said Ben Downing, The Engine’s Chief Growth Officer and a former state senator. “The idea that a solution to one of the biggest climate challenges could also help revitalize one of these communities gives me more hope that I can accurately express.”
Downing helped broker conversations between the Sublime team and the local leadership: Mayor Joshua A. Garcia, the city’s Office of Planning and Economic Development, the City Council, and Massachusetts’ Healey-Driscoll Administration. These talks made clear the benefit of the proposed plant to the local community, resulting in two critical incentives: a state tax credit from the Economic Development Incentive Program and local Tax Increment Financing from the City of Holyoke to offset property taxes.
In January 2024, Sublime and the city of Holyoke announced that the company’s first factory would be built in the city over the site of an abandoned paper mill, expected to produce up to 30,000 tons of clean cement annually.
Sublime Systems' first clean cement factory will be powered by hydroelectric power and built over the site of an abandoned paper mill in Holyoke, MA. (Photo: Sublime Systems)
With the plans in place, The Engine helped Sublime find local staff to lead their community engagement and project development work. "The Engine has gone above and beyond in providing invaluable public affairs services,” said Joe Hicken, SVP of Business Development and Policy at Sublime Systems.
Hicken continued: “The Engine has helped us design and implement effective project development stakeholder-engagement frameworks, facilitated critical introductions to highest-level thought leaders in the public and private sectors, and even positioned Sublime as a good "menu item" to include in third-party government funding applications. This holistic approach to support has been pivotal in expanding our network and commercial growth prospects."
Since its initial discussions with The Engine, Sublime has expanded its integrated public affairs function, now better equipped to respond to unique opportunities and effectively engage with key stakeholders. This public affairs work has been linked to internal business development goals, ensuring they get the most out of their investment in time and talent.
Ahead of the Microsoft deal, Sublime has already contributed tons of cement to Boston’s largest net-zero office building at One Boston Wharf. It has partnered with two of the largest building materials companies, CRH and Holcim. And it is already looking ahead to build a full-scale manufacturing facility once the Holyoke plant is complete, capable of producing one million tons of clean cement every year.
Sublime’s success is a testament to the power of the Tough Tech ecosystem that The Engine has convened in Massachusetts. When the right public and private partners come together, we have all the resources we need to build the foundation for a more sustainable, prosperous future for our communities.
