A lifetime advancing cement science and innovation

After 35 years at VDZ, including more than 25 years as chief executive, Dr Martin Schneider will retire in November 2026. During his tenure, he transformed VDZ into a thriving international research and technical services organisation and helped establish the European Cement Research Academy (ECRA), whose collaborative research laid the foundations for the oxyfuel technology which has recently been demonstrated at the Catch4Climate plant at Mergelstetten. ICR met Dr Schneider in Düsseldorf to discuss his career, the development of carbon capture technology, the potential of mechanochemically-activated clays and the cement industry’s route to net zero. By Thomas Armstrong, ICR, UK