TURKIYE CIMENTO SANAYICILERI BIRLIGI DERNEGI

Their core work

The Turkish Cement Manufacturers Association (TCMA) is the national industry body representing Turkey's cement sector — one of the largest cement industries in Europe and globally. In EU research projects, they play the role of an end-user and industry representative, providing access to real industrial facilities, sector-wide data, and a direct channel to cement plant operators. Their contribution to H2020 projects lies in validating technologies in genuine industrial settings and ensuring research outputs are relevant to the needs of cement manufacturers. They bridge the gap between academic research and large-scale industrial deployment in a hard-to-abate sector.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

TCMA's early H2020 engagement (FISSAC, 2015) centred on circular economy principles — specifically reducing waste and improving resource efficiency through industrial symbiosis across construction material supply chains. By 2019, their focus moved decisively toward carbon capture technology, joining a project developing MOF-based CO2 adsorption systems designed specifically for energy-intensive industries like cement. This shift reflects a broader strategic pivot in the cement sector: from resource efficiency to deep decarbonisation, tracking where EU policy and funding pressure are heading.

TCMA is moving from circular economy participation toward active engagement in carbon capture technology — positioning themselves as a gateway for deploying CCS solutions in the Turkish and broader cement industry.

How they like to work

TCMA consistently participates as a partner, never as a project coordinator — a pattern typical of industry associations that bring sectoral access and end-user validation rather than research leadership. Both of their projects sit in large, multi-partner consortia (FISSAC and MOF4AIR are pan-European collaborations), suggesting they are comfortable operating within complex, multi-stakeholder structures. For a potential collaborator, TCMA is best approached as an industry gateway and validation partner, not as a technical R&D contributor.

TCMA has built connections with 43 unique consortium partners across 13 countries through just two projects — an unusually wide network for such a small H2020 portfolio. This breadth reflects their participation in large, well-networked European consortia rather than repeated collaboration with the same partners.

What sets them apart

TCMA is the official representative of Turkey's cement industry, which is among the top five cement-producing nations in the world — giving them unmatched access to industrial-scale testing environments and a direct line to decision-makers in a strategically important hard-to-abate sector. For consortia developing carbon capture or resource efficiency technologies, TCMA offers something most research partners cannot: credible industry buy-in and the prospect of genuine deployment at scale in a non-EU but EU-adjacent market. Their value is not in lab work — it is in de-risking the industrial transition from technology to market.

Highlights from their portfolio

• FISSAC
  TCMA's largest funded project (€542,500), focused on industrial symbiosis across the extended construction materials sector — an early and significant commitment to circular economy principles in cement.
• MOF4AIR
  A technically ambitious carbon capture project using Metal Organic Frameworks and swing adsorption, running until 2025 — TCMA's most forward-looking engagement and a direct signal of where the cement sector is headed on decarbonisation.