An award that exemplifies the transformation of the European building materials industry: Wienerberger has been honored together with the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) with the Net-Zero Industries Award from the European Commission. The award recognizes concrete solutions for decarbonizing energy-intensive industrial processes and signals the EU's strategic priority of making building material production climate-neutral. For the brick and ceramics industry, whose firing processes traditionally cause high CO₂ emissions, the award marks a turning point.
The cooperation between Wienerberger and AIT focuses on the development and validation of technologies that significantly reduce energy requirements and emissions in brick production. The focus is on optimized firing processes, alternative fuels, and process heat recovery. While conventional brick factories reach temperatures of up to 1,000 °C in the firing process and primarily use fossil energy sources, the award-winning innovations aim at a substantial reduction in specific energy demand per ton of fired material. The collaboration with AIT enables scientific support and measurement-based validation of the process optimizations.
The Net-Zero Industries Award is part of a series of initiatives through which the EU Commission is advancing the decarbonization of basic materials industries. For planners and architects, the CO₂ balance of building materials is increasingly important, as Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) and life cycle assessments according to EN 15804 are becoming standard in procurement practices. Wienerberger is strategically positioning itself with the award in the competition for climate-optimized wall building materials, which is increasingly intensifying between ceramic materials, calcium silicate brick, and autoclaved aerated concrete. Market dynamics are further influenced by the EU taxonomy and national subsidy programs that favor low-carbon construction methods.
The award comes at a time of intense consolidation in the European brick market. Recently, Wienerberger completed the acquisition of Creaton, significantly strengthening the group's market position in the roof tile segment. The now awarded technological leadership in decarbonized production processes can be interpreted as a strategic competitive advantage, particularly in markets with stricter climate regulations. In parallel, other building material manufacturers are also investing in CO₂ reduction: Etex and Heidelberg Materials are advancing fiber cement recycling, while in the insulation sector ISOVER is using sustainability as a growth driver. The Europe-wide transformation of the building materials industry toward climate neutrality is thus accelerating measurably.
