“The Top 10 Global Building Materials Technology News Stories of 2025” Announced

To promote technological innovation in the building materials industry from a global perspective and to gain a deeper understanding of and disseminate the latest research achievements worldwide, the China Building Materials Federation has organized the “Top 10 Global Building Materials Science and Technology News of 2025” selection. This year’s selection focused on original news reports publicly released by global media outlets, enterprises, and relevant institutions between January 1 and December 31, 2025, covering groundbreaking advances, innovative research findings, and major project developments in such areas as fundamental theoretical research, new materials, new processes, new technologies, energy conservation and emission reduction, green and low-carbon initiatives, and the application of artificial intelligence in the building materials sector. Following extensive solicitation through multiple channels, rigorous screening by industry experts, and an open online vote, the final results of this selection are hereby announced (listed in order of publication date).

1. Successful Plasma Cement Kiln Trial at Heidelberg Materials

On February 17, 2025, according to a report by International Cement Review, Heidelberg Materials completed the first-ever continuous-operation test of a global plasma-assisted water-heated cement rotary kiln, thereby validating the feasibility of using plasma technology for stable clinker production. This technology relies on electricity as its energy source, producing flue gas that is almost pure CO₂, which significantly simplifies carbon capture processes, reduces energy consumption and capital investment, and lowers overall emissions. Test results indicate that the fuel-free plasma process yields higher-quality clinker, with finer C₃S crystals and faster cement hydration kinetics. The 54-hour continuous operation of the cement kiln represents a world first, opening up a new pathway for the electrification of cement production and the deployment of advanced CCS solutions, and holding significant implications for deep decarbonization in the industry.

Figure 1: Reaction Schematic

Image source: Heidelberg Materials official website

2. Global Debut of the Cement Cloud-Edge Collaborative Large Model Application

On April 23, 2025, according to a report in China Building Materials magazine, the China National Building Materials Federation, Conch Group, and Huawei jointly hosted the “Cement Artificial Intelligence Large Model Achievement Launch Conference” in Wuhu, Anhui Province. With the support of the China National Building Materials Federation, Conch Group, in collaboration with Huawei, leveraged Huawei Cloud’s Pangu predictive large model, vision large model, natural language processing large model, and vast amounts of cement industry data to build an AI operating system that integrates “centralized training, edge inference, cloud-edge collaboration, on-the-job learning, and continuous optimization.” The newly released large models have already been deployed across more than 40 application scenarios in five major categories: quality control, production optimization, equipment management, safe production, and intelligent question answering. As the building materials industry’s first cloud-edge collaborative large model for cement, the launch of this achievement marks a milestone in advancing the digital and intelligent transformation of the cement sector.

Figure 2: Press Conference on the Achievements of the Cement AI Large Model

Image source: China Building Materials Magazine

3. ETH Zurich Develops “Photosynthetic Living Materials” That Efficiently Absorb Carbon Dioxide

On April 23, 2025, according to a report in Nature Communications, a team from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich used 3D printing to immobilize photosynthetic cyanobacteria within a hydrogel matrix, thereby creating a novel “photosynthetic living material.” By carefully designing the hydrogel structure, this material enables long-term, dual-path carbon fixation under ambient temperature, atmospheric pressure, and natural light conditions. Through cyanobacterial photosynthesis, the material converts atmospheric CO₂ into biomass while simultaneously promoting the formation of insoluble carbonate minerals, thus achieving synergistic reversible biological carbon fixation and irreversible mineral carbon fixation. The cyanobacteria embedded in the material remain stable and active for more than 400 days, with each gram of hydrogel sequestering approximately 2.2 ± 0.9 milligrams of carbon over 30 days and accumulating about 26 ± 7 milligrams over 400 days. The research team envisions applying this highly durable “photosynthetic living material” to building façades or surface coatings, offering a new technological pathway toward low-energy, carbon-neutral buildings.

Figure 3: Preparation of Photosynthetic Living Materials

Image source: Nature Communications

4. New Breakthroughs Achieved in Research on Cement-Based Power Generation/Storage Materials

On May 9, 2025, according to a report by the Xinhuanet official account, a research team at Southeast University has developed two types of self-generating cement-based materials—N-type and P-type—as well as a self-storing cement-based supercapacitor, using cement as the matrix. The N-type self-generating cement-based material boasts a Seebeck coefficient that is ten times the highest value reported for conventional cement-based thermoelectric materials; the P-type self-generating cement-based material exhibits a power factor (PF) that is 51 times the maximum observed in traditional cement-based thermoelectrics, with a figure of merit (ZT) that is 42 times the peak value for such materials. The newly developed self-storing cement-based supercapacitor maintains the high strength of cement while offering excellent electrochemical reversibility and rapid charge-transfer kinetics; after 20,000 charge–discharge cycles, it still retains 95% of its initial specific capacitance. When fabricated into energy-storage wall panels, these devices can store approximately one day’s worth of electricity for a residential household, and when paired with photovoltaic systems, they can increase the utilization rate of solar power by more than 30%.

On September 17, 2025, according to a report in Cell Reports Physical Science, the Department of Engineering at Aarhus University in Denmark has unveiled a groundbreaking “living” cement-based supercapacitor. The research team embedded the electroactive microorganism Shewanella oneidensis within cement, enabling it to form a conductive biofilm network while maintaining structural load-bearing capacity and thereby achieving electrical energy storage. The material’s most innovative feature is its ability to re-activate dormant microorganisms by supplementing nutrients—specifically lactate—thereby restoring approximately 80% of its original energy-storage performance. This confers a “renewable energy-storage” capability that conventional batteries cannot achieve. Moreover, after 10,000 charge–discharge cycles, the device retains about 85% of its initial capacitance.

On October 1, 2025, according to MIT’s official website, a research team at the institute has achieved a new breakthrough in capacitive concrete technology, increasing the energy density of concrete supercapacitors by a factor of ten. Using focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy and three-dimensional reconstruction, the team revealed the nanoscale conductive network structure within the concrete and optimized the electrolyte system, enabling a single cubic meter of concrete to store more than 2 kilowatt-hours of energy.

Relevant research findings can be applied to walls, road surfaces, and infrastructure, reducing buildings’ reliance on the external power grid and supporting the clean, low-carbon transformation of sectors such as construction and transportation.

Figure 4: Cement-based energy-storage bricks for building energy storage / Microbial-cement supercapacitors / 12-volt supercapacitor prototype

Image sources: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southeast University; Cell Reports Physical Sciences; MIT website.

5. South China University of Technology Has Developed an Oxidation-Resistant High-Entropy Carbide Material Capable of Withstanding 3,600°C

On June 5, 2025, Advanced Materials reported that a team from South China University of Technology has successfully developed an oxidation-resistant high-entropy carbide material capable of withstanding temperatures up to 3,600°C through high-entropy multi-component composition design. During a 3,600°C laser oxidation test—with a heat flux density of 30 MW·m⁻²—the material exhibited an oxidation rate of only 2.7 µm·s⁻¹, significantly lower than that of other ultra-high-temperature materials reported to date. The exceptional high-temperature oxidation resistance of this high-entropy carbide ceramic stems from the differing oxygen-adsorption affinities of its constituent elements, which promote the formation of a highly viscous oxide layer whose skeletal structure is composed of finely dispersed, ultra-high-melting-point WO₃. This oxide layer effectively impedes the further diffusion and penetration of oxygen into the bulk material. This novel ultra-high-temperature ceramic material breaks through longstanding research bottlenecks in the field and holds great promise for applications in aerospace, new energy, and other sectors that demand materials capable of withstanding extreme high temperatures.

Figure 5: Laser Oxidation Test of Antioxidant High-Entropy Carbide Materials

Image source: Advanced Materials

6. AGC and the University of Tokyo Have Developed a Revolutionary Technology That Increases Glass Processing Speed by a Factor of One Million

On June 11, 2025, according to a report in the journal Science Advances, the AGC Group and the University of Tokyo have jointly developed a revolutionary laser-processing technology that increases the processing speed for transparent materials such as glass by a factor of one million compared with conventional laser methods. Addressing the urgent demand for high-rigidity glass substrates in high-speed, low-power semiconductor packaging, the technology introduces a novel “Transient Selective Laser Absorption” (Bessel TSL) processing mechanism. The research team employs a double-Bessel beam generated by an axicon lens to deliver picosecond and microsecond laser pulses sequentially from the same direction. Unlike conventional femtosecond lasers that rely on extremely high peak intensities, this approach uses low-power light sources—down to the hundred-watt range—with energy densities four orders of magnitude lower, effectively suppressing plasma reflection. This breakthrough overcomes the long-standing efficiency bottleneck in laser processing of transparent materials, eliminates the generation of waste liquids, and offers the dual advantages of high efficiency, low energy consumption, and green manufacturing.

Figure 6: A glass substrate with numerous through-holes, fabricated via ultra-high-speed machining (with a hole pitch of 100 μm).

Image source: Science Advances

7. Ras Al Khaimah Ceramics in the United Arab Emirates Commissiones the Ceramic Industry’s First High-Purity Carbon Dioxide Capture and Utilization Facility

On October 22, according to the Emirates News Agency, RAK Ceramics of the United Arab Emirates and Gulf Cryo officially commissioned the UAE’s first carbon capture and utilization (CCU) facility dedicated to the resourceful use of high-purity carbon dioxide. This marks the ceramics industry’s first end-to-end CCU system for high-purity CO₂, representing a key technological breakthrough in industrial decarbonization. The facility can directly capture approximately 17,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually from flue gas and, through a purification process, convert it into food-grade CO₂ with a purity of 99.99%, thereby eliminating external emissions associated with conventional carbon treatment and substantially reducing emissions-management costs. The high-purity CO₂ is then fed directly into industrial applications, significantly enhancing economic sustainability compared with traditional CCS approaches. The commissioning of this project signifies the first instance in the ceramics sector of high-purity carbon-resource utilization at the source of emissions, providing a practical pathway for broader industrial sectors to advance a low-carbon transition from emission reduction to value-added utilization.

Figure 7: On-site factory photos

Image source: Emirates News Agency

8. A team from the National University of Defense Technology has developed a new material that absorbs ultra-wideband radar waves at temperatures as high as 1,000°C.

On November 25, 2025, Nature Communications reported the latest research findings from the National University of Defense Technology on RuO₂/glass resistive materials. The research team leveraged the quantum tunneling effect to enable electrons to “tunnel through” the glass barrier between RuO₂ nanoparticles, a process that is virtually unaffected by atomic thermal vibrations. As a result, the material maintains an exceptionally low temperature coefficient of resistance—ranging from −95 to −365 ppm/°C—across a broad temperature range from room temperature to 1,000°C. This enables the material to sustain ultra-wideband radar-wave absorption spanning 2 to 12 GHz even under extreme high-temperature conditions up to 1,000°C, with performance demonstrating “superior robustness” across variations in temperature, thermal shock, polarization state, and angle of incidence. This material could serve as a critical component for endowing hypersonic vehicles with “stealth” capabilities during their breakthrough of the “thermal barrier.”

Figure 8: New Material Design Concept and Physical Sample Photos

Image source: Nature Communications

9. University of Colorado Develops High-Transmittance, Ultra-Insulating Material

On December 11, 2025, the University of Colorado Boulder published research in the journal Science that introduces a mesoporous optically clear heat-insulating material—MOCHI (Mesoporous Optically Clear Heat Insulator)—which overturns conventional wisdom by simultaneously achieving “high transparency” and “ultra-high thermal insulation.” By precisely tuning the size, orientation, and pore structure of the nanotube network, this material attains a visible-light transmittance exceeding 99% while reducing its thermal conductivity to as low as 10–12 mW/(m·K), even lower than that of still air. More than 90% of MOCHI’s volume is occupied by air, with pore sizes ranging from only 5 to 30 nanometers—far smaller than the mean free path of air molecules and the wavelengths of light—thereby effectively suppressing both heat conduction and light scattering. A 2.5-cm-thick insulating glass unit fabricated from this material achieves a thermal resistance R of 2.64 (m²·K)/W, surpassing that of conventional building walls. While maintaining unobstructed views and ample daylight, it significantly reduces the energy consumption for building heating and cooling. The development of this material paves the way for next-generation smart windows, non-concentrating solar collectors, and other innovative applications.

Figure 9: The sample held by the researchers consists of five layers of MOCHI material and two glass substrates.

Image source: Science

10. The China Building Materials Federation Organizes the Showcase of Seven Breakthrough Achievements at the “Yiye Shangpin” Launch Event for Breakthrough New Technologies and Products

On December 3, 2025, CCTV News Channel and CCTV.com reported on the Second “Yiye Shangpin” Breakthrough New Technologies and New Products Launch Event for the Building Materials Industry. During the event, seven groundbreaking scientific and technological achievements—each representing a world-first or global-leading innovation in the sector—were unveiled: a digital R&D and intelligent design platform for low-carbon building materials; a laser chemical vapor deposition technology for the preparation of highly oriented, ultra-pure silicon carbide; a 10,000-ton-scale “zero-employee” demonstration cement plant; an aerogel insulation product capable of withstanding temperatures up to 1,300°C for use in new-energy batteries; ultra-high signal-to-noise ratio, ultra-light-blocking glass; “ultra-cold cement”—an inorganic radiative cooling metamaterial; and 8.6-generation OLED glass substrates. These new technologies and products not only exemplify the tangible results of major science-and-tech initiatives during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, such as the “listing-and-command” approach to tackling key technological challenges, the construction of “six-zero” factories, and the R&D of inorganic non-metallic “supermaterials,” but also paint a broad and promising picture for the future applications of building materials.

Figure 10: The Second “Yiye Shangpin” Breakthrough New Technology and New Product Launch Event for the Building Materials Industry

Image source: CCTV’s “News Broadcast”