Meet the SOLPART team in our interview series in video: Jorge Pablo Garcia Garcia, Manager at CEMEX Research Group AG (Switzerland) answers 7 questions about his role in the project, challenges, achievements and the way ahead.

Question: Tell us a bit about yourself…

Answer: Hello! My name is Jorge Pablo Garcia Garcia. I am working for the CEMEX Research Group, as a specialist in pyroprocesses.

Tell us a bit about your role in the SOLPART Project at CEMEX.

As part of this company, dedicated to cement industry, we are looking at renewables sources in order to be able to use it on our cement plants.

Why did you decide to take part in this project?

We actually decided because we are increasing our energy resources and we think that it is a great opportunity in order to be implemented in the future years.

What are the most challenging aspects of your role?

The technical and economic analysis has to be fit in the industrial level. Nowadays, when we are working as a leader in the cement industry, there is a main focus regarding reducing our footprint of CO2 and also reducing our emissions. We have seen an advantage of the use of this sunlight.

What success has been achieved within your task?

In order to see the behaviour of [cement] raw meal that we are managing in our cement industry, it’s great because then we could see the calcination effect inside of the reactor or solar reactor.

What should be the next steps for the end of the project to achieve the success of this technology?

This [technology] should be implemented next to a cement plant in order to see the performance and upgrade the situation of this. Because we are going be ready to build the pilot prototype here and at the end we are expecting to jump to the next one [upscaled pilot plant].

Last comments to conclude?

I think it was a great opportunity to join with everybody here to see the reactor situation and the real effect with the calcination process.

And also to bring it inside the cement industries, it’s a new way in order to see the renewable resources that we could have with the sunlight and all the effective situations that we could see with our fields inside the cement industry as a new source of that.