R&D arm of global lime producer Lhoist, focused on carbon capture for lime and cement manufacturing and lime-based construction materials.
Lhoist R&D is the research arm of the Lhoist Group, one of the world's largest lime and dolomite producers, based in Limelette, Belgium. Their research mission centers on decarbonizing lime and cement manufacturing — an industry responsible for roughly 7% of global CO2 emissions — and on developing new applications for lime-based and bio-derived construction materials. They bring deep industrial process knowledge from operating kilns and calciners at commercial scale, which lets them test emerging carbon capture technologies in real plant conditions. In short: they are the industrial partner that turns carbon capture chemistry from a lab concept into something that works inside a cement plant.
Core partner in both LEILAC and LEILAC2, which develop and demonstrate the Direct Separation calciner for capturing unavoidable process CO2 from lime and Portland cement production.
LEILAC2 moves from pilot to demonstration scale and explicitly addresses CO2 hubs, CCUS, CCS and CO2 use pathways for hard-to-abate industry.
ISOBIO developed highly insulating composite construction materials from bio-aggregates, with Lhoist contributing lime-based binders and renders.
ISOBIO work referenced moisture sorption, environmental quality and air quality in lime-rendered bio-composite panels.
Between 2015 and 2019 their H2020 engagement was spread between bio-based building materials (ISOBIO) and the first LEILAC pilot on calciner CO2 capture. From 2020 onward the portfolio narrows and deepens almost entirely onto industrial decarbonization: LEILAC2 scales Direct Separation technology, introduces CO2 hub and CCUS/CCS logistics, and puts CO2 utilization on the table. The trajectory is clear — they have moved from materials science side-projects toward betting their research capacity on carbon capture for their core lime and cement business.
They are doubling down on industrial CCUS for lime and cement, making them an obvious partner for anyone building the next generation of low-carbon heavy industry value chains or CO2 utilization projects.
Lhoist R&D consistently joins as an industrial partner rather than coordinating — zero coordinator roles, two participant roles and one third-party role across three projects. They work in sizable consortia (42 unique partners across 13 countries) and show strong loyalty to the LEILAC line of research, staying with the same core team from pilot into demonstration. For a collaborator this means they are a dependable industrial anchor, not a project manager — bring them in for real-plant validation, not to run the paperwork.
Their H2020 network spans 42 distinct partners across 13 European countries, clustered around large industrial-decarbonization consortia typical of cement and lime CCUS work. The geographic footprint is pan-European with a natural pull toward industrial partners in Belgium, Germany, France, the UK and Australia (via Calix, the Direct Separation technology originator).
Very few research organizations combine deep lime chemistry expertise with the ability to host and operate full-scale calciner trials — Lhoist R&D does both because it sits inside a global lime producer. Compared to academic carbon-capture groups they offer real plant access and process realism; compared to engineering firms they bring proprietary knowledge of lime reactivity and kiln behavior. If your technology only works on paper until it meets a real calciner, this is the partner that closes that gap.
