Shaping a sustainable path: Exploring opportunities and challenges in carbon capture and utilization in cement and concrete industry

• CCU Technologies as Promising Alternatives: Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) technologies emerge as highly promising options to mitigate environmental impacts within the cement and concrete industries. • Comprehensive mapping of CCU Initiatives: The article thoroughly examines existing initiatives related to Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) in construction engineering, focusing on cement and concrete applications. • Critical factors identified for the success in the implementation of carbon capture and utilization: high CO₂ capture efficiency associated with scalability through modular design, ability to process diverse residues or existing materials, retrofit-friendly technology with easy integration into existing plants of cement or concrete, use of CO2 with low or high purity. • Advancing CCU Technology: The study identifies key challenges and opportunities of global developments in CCU technologies, setting the stage for their sustainable progress in the cement and concrete industry. Portland cement is one of the most used materials in the world. Despite the environmental harm its production causes, it will most likely continue dominating the market, given its remarkable characteristics and widespread use worldwide with high consumer acceptance. Improvements in the energy demand, equipment efficiency, and intensification of alternative materials have been proposed to mitigate the large amount of CO 2 emissions during the clinker process. However, even if applied, only some extent of the CO 2 emitted could be avoided since the most significant portion comes from the limestone decomposition, which cannot be avoided, fitting the cement industry into the list of hard-to-abate industries. In this scenario, new companies are developing and improving indispensable carbon capture technologies and CO 2 reapplication in new processes. With the advance of carbon market regulation, the technologies that prove to be the most efficient will have a competitive advantage in this new economy. This study reviews the current carbon capture scenario in cement and concrete production and highlights the leading companies emerging in this sector, exploring the main aspects of their processes, technology readiness levels (TRL), real-world achievements, scalability, suitability for achieving net-zero emissions, credibility, feasibility, opportunities, and limitations.