Planned Ventspils cement plant in line for up to €27.5 million EU Innovation Fund grant

A cement plant planned in Ventspils, Latvia, by the Swedish company Cemvision could receive up to €27.5 million from the European Union's Innovation Fund, which supports low-carbon technologies. The money is earmarked for the RE-MENT project, which aims to build a plant with a capacity of up to 500,000 tonnes of cement a year.

The plant is intended to produce supersulfated cement (SSC). Compared with conventional cement production, it can cut CO₂ emissions by more than 90%. In its first ten years of operation, the project is expected to help avoid more than 3.1 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions.

Next steps

Cemvision will begin preparing the grant agreement with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). The agreement is due to be signed between November 2026 and March 2027.

Cemvision chief executive Klaas Kolbergs said inclusion among the supported projects shows the technology is ready to move from demonstration to industrial-scale production. He said Europe can make the cement it needs from industrial by-products while generating only a small share of the emissions typical of traditional production.

Support from the Latvian agency

The Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) assisted the company throughout the application process. It organised information days in Latvia, provided access to expert knowledge and advised on programme requirements. LIAA director Ieva Jāgere said the support lowers the project's financial risks and helps move the plan towards implementation.

The Cemvision project is one of two in Latvia to secure funding in this Innovation Fund call. The first Latvian company to receive Innovation Fund support was Aerones, which in 2023 was approved for a €4.4 million grant to scale up production of robots that repair wind turbine blades.

Together with the Ministry of Climate and Energy and the Employers' Confederation of Latvia, LIAA plans to hold an in-person Innovation Fund information day for Latvian companies in 2027. The date and registration procedure will be announced later.