Identifying execution-ready decarbonization solutions in construction

Cemex operates at the core of one of the most emissions-intensive industries globally. As pressure to decarbonize construction accelerates, the company is actively seeking partnerships that can reduce emissions while creating value in real-world industrial environments.

To drive this effort, Cemex established Cemex Ventures, its corporate venture and open innovation arm. The team focuses on identifying and scaling technologies that can transform how construction is designed, built, and operated.

Their work sits at the intersection of venture investing, industrial deployment, and ecosystem intelligence, with one central objective: to partner with companies that can realistically scale decarbonization across the built environment.

The Challenge

Cemex Ventures evaluates a global pipeline of startups across a wide range of decarbonization themes, from low-carbon materials to construction process optimization and circularity.

The difficulty is not access to innovation. It is understanding what truly matters.

Many early-stage solutions look compelling on the surface, often backed by strong narratives or funding. But in construction, success depends on something much harder to assess: whether a technology can operate within complex, risk-sensitive, real-world environments.

Each opportunity needs to be understood in context, compared against alternatives, and evaluated not only on potential, but on its ability to translate into deployment.

“We see a large volume of companies, and the challenge is quickly identifying which solutions are truly relevant in such a broad and fast-evolving landscape.”
— Liliana Cruz, Investment Analyst, Cemex Ventures

At the same time, Cemex Ventures publishes its annual Top 50 Most Disruptive Contech Startups report. The credibility of this report depends on applying that same level of rigor at scale across a global set of companies.

The Solution

To address this, Cemex Ventures uses Net Zero Insights as a structured intelligence layer across both workflows.

Instead of evaluating companies in isolation, the team can place each opportunity within a broader landscape of technologies, markets, and comparable players. This makes it possible to understand not just what a company claims to do, but how it fits into the wider decarbonization ecosystem.

“Decarbonization requires a clear view of the technology landscape to identify which solutions can move from innovation to large-scale deployment.”
—  Liliana Cruz, Investment Analyst, Cemex Ventures

A key part of this is the ability to assess signals beyond funding. By looking at technology maturity, commercial traction, and real-world activity, the team can more clearly distinguish between early-stage concepts and solutions that are beginning to scale.

This same approach extends to inbound opportunity assessment. When reviewing startups, the team can quickly understand how a company compares globally, how mature the underlying technology is, and whether there are signs of adoption.

For the Top 50 report, this creates a more repeatable and defensible process. Instead of relying on fragmented inputs, the team can build a structured longlist, identify emerging categories, and apply consistent criteria across all companies considered.

Impact

With a more structured approach to market intelligence, Cemex Ventures is able to move faster and with greater confidence in its decision-making.

Opportunities can be assessed more consistently across different technologies and geographies, reducing the time required to understand each company while improving the quality of comparisons.

At the same time, the Top 50 report benefits from a stronger analytical foundation. The selection process becomes more transparent, and the insights more grounded in observable market signals.

“A more structured view of the market, supported by market intelligence, helps us move faster and make more confident investment decisions across diverse technologies and geographies.”
—  Liliana Cruz, Investment Analyst, Cemex Ventures

Why it matters

Decarbonizing construction is not just about identifying new ideas. It is about identifying solutions that can be deployed at scale within one of the most complex industrial systems in the world.

This makes the ability to evaluate technologies accurately a core capability. By combining structured intelligence with real-world signals, Cemex Ventures is building a system that allows them to identify what works earlier, and with greater confidence.

Want to understand how leading corporate venture teams identify execution-ready decarbonization solutions? Talk with our team today!

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