For immediate release, 12 December 2025, Sydney: Boral Limited (“Boral”) has successfully secured $25 million in NSW Government funding for its alternative fuel project at Berrima Cement Works to accelerate the transition of the kiln’s thermal energy source from coal to alternative fuels.
The project will deliver significant reductions in Scope 1 emissions associated with cement manufacturing; approximately 1.6 million tonnes of carbon emission reductions over its service life.
Part of Boral’s broader decarbonisation pathway, the project demonstrates the viability and feasibility of providing up to 60 per cent of kiln thermal energy from lower carbon alternative fuels. It will divert approximately 73,000 tonnes per year of waste away from landfill, while reducing direct emission and other environmental impacts.
The funding was awarded to Boral under the NSW Government’s High Emitting Industries Grant, which supports high-emitting manufacturing and mining facilities to develop and deploy decarbonisation projects to achieve significant emissions reductions by 2030.
Berrima Cement Works is a strategically significant site for Boral and to Australia’s manufacturing capability, responsible for supplying up to 40 per cent of cement in NSW and the ACT. Approximately 35 per cent of the Berrima facility’s Scope 1 emissions originate from fuel combustion, while the remaining 65 per cent are process emissions due to the calcination process where limestone decomposes into calcium oxide and carbon dioxide during the clinker manufacturing process.
The alternative fuel project targets 60 per cent substitution of thermal energy. Boral’s alternative fuel is derived from waste material with high biomass content that would otherwise end up in landfill.
Boral CEO and Managing Director Vik Bansal says: “We are proud to receive this grant in support of our alternative fuel project, which marks a critical step towards decarbonisation and safeguarding the future of local cement manufacturing in Australia. Cement production is not only a cornerstone of our national infrastructure but a vital contributor to regional employment and economic resilience.
“As the reformed Safeguard Mechanism introduces more stringent emissions reduction targets, it is imperative that trade-exposed industries like ours are equipped with practical, cost-effective pathways to decarbonisation to support thousands of jobs and the local industry’s serious risk from offshore competition, which has already seen major decline over the last two decades. It’s why we continue to advocate for a Carbon Border Adjustment mechanism to ensure an even playing field and avoid carbon leakage from imported products not subject to the same decarbonisation measures.”
Dr Ali Nezhad, Head of Sustainability and Innovation at Boral, says: “The NSW Government’s grant signifies a vote of confidence on Boral’s decarbonisation and innovation efforts in sustaining local cement manufacturing capability during the transition to net zero.
“Berrima Cement Works supplies a significant portion of the cement used in NSW and the ACT, dating back to 1929. This project will enable us to build technical and operational capabilities to sustainably achieve significant emissions reductions, ensuring that NSW’s only integrated cement facility remains competitive in a net zero future. We look forward to sharing our findings across the sector through industry workshops and conferences, helping to preserve and strengthen Australia’s domestic cement manufacturing capability for generations to come.”
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About Boral
Boral is the largest vertically-integrated construction materials company in Australia.
Our network includes prized quarry and cement infrastructure, bitumen, construction materials recycling, asphalt and concrete batching operations.
We employ about 7,500 employees and contractors across our operations that span more than 360 sites nation-wide.
For more than 75 years we’ve been building something great in Australia - rarely a day goes by that you wouldn’t pass one of our sites or trucks, enter a building, use a road, bridge, tunnel, footpath or other critical infrastructure that our people and products have helped enable.