By Richard Kofi Boahen
Ghana could reap significant economic and environmental benefits from the growing use of calcined clay in cement production, as the low-carbon technology offers an opportunity to reduce the country’s costly dependence on imported clinker while creating new value from its abundant clay resources.
A September 2026 analysis by the Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT) identifies Ghana as one of the emerging leaders in commercial-scale calcined clay production, highlighting the country’s potential to become an important producer of lower-carbon construction materials.
The analysis, based on data from LeadIT’s Green Cement Technology Tracker, says calcined clay projects are increasingly being developed in emerging markets, unlike carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), which remains concentrated largely in advanced economies.
A cheaper alternative to clinker
Conventional cement production relies heavily on clinker, which is produced by heating limestone and other materials to temperatures of about 1,500°C. The process consumes large amounts of energy and releases significant quantities of carbon dioxide.
Calcined clay provides an alternative by allowing part of the clinker in cement to be replaced with processed clay. Suitable kaolin-rich clay can be heated at between 650°C and 750°C, far below the temperature required to produce clinker.
One of the most established applications is limestone calcined clay cement (LC3), which typically combines about 15 per cent limestone and 30 per cent calcined clay. According to LeadIT, the technology can reduce cement emissions by up to 40 per cent while remaining economically competitive with conventional Ordinary Portland Cement, depending on local conditions.
For Ghana, however, the significance goes beyond climate protection. The country is the world’s second-largest clinker importer, with imports valued at about US$288 million, according to the analysis. Reducing clinker imports through locally available clay could therefore help conserve foreign exchange, reduce production costs and strengthen the domestic cement industry.
Ghana’s clay advantage
Ghana’s extensive kaolin resources could give the country a competitive advantage in the emerging low-carbon cement market.
LeadIT notes that kaolin is found in significant quantities across humid tropical regions, including Africa, Latin America and Asia. The proximity of these deposits to cement production facilities can reduce the cost and environmental impact associated with transporting raw materials.
The country has already begun taking advantage of this opportunity. In 2025, Heidelberg Materials and CBI Ghana partnered to begin calcined clay production in Tema, with the objective of reducing the clinker content of cement. A second large-scale facility owned by CIMPOR Ghana, also in Tema, was designed to produce about 1,280 tonnes of calcined clay per day, although its commissioning remains unconfirmed.
The expansion of the industry could generate wider economic benefits, including investment in processing facilities, demand for locally sourced clay, technical and engineering jobs, and new opportunities for businesses serving the construction-materials value chain.
It could also improve Ghana’s competitiveness as demand grows globally for lower-carbon building materials.
Room for greater expansion
Despite the progress, LeadIT says deployment remains far below what is required to significantly transform the global cement industry.
More than 72 per cent of projects tracked have been announced at commercial scale, while around 70 per cent of those commercial-scale projects are already operational. Yet operational and announced capacity would still support less than one per cent of global cement production.
The global pipeline includes 15 active projects representing at least US$449 million in publicly disclosed investment and 3.3 million tonnes of annual calcined clay manufacturing capacity. If completed, these projects would raise global capacity to about 9.1 million tonnes a year.
LeadIT says governments can accelerate the transition by establishing standards that permit higher levels of clinker substitution, promoting green public procurement and supporting financing for projects, particularly in emerging markets.
For Ghana, such measures could help turn its clay resources into a strategic industrial asset—reducing reliance on imported clinker while supporting local investment, jobs and a more competitive cement industry.
Calcined clay is not, however, a complete answer to cement’s climate challenge. LeadIT estimates that the technology can reduce emissions by roughly 20 to 40 per cent, meaning it will need to be deployed alongside other measures, including energy efficiency, alternative fuels and carbon capture.
The analysis nevertheless concludes that calcined clay has moved beyond the experimental stage and is now a technically mature and commercially proven pathway to lower-carbon cement.
For Ghana, the opportunity is therefore twofold: cutting emissions while turning a locally available natural resource into a source of industrial growth, investment and economic value.
