WISE Dialogue 2024 is around the corner

On March 12–13, the WISE Dialogue 2024 will bring together leading experts to exchange ideas and inspire future research in sustainability. With a focus on Energy Storage, Life Cycle Assessment, Concrete and Cement, and Innovations, this year’s event serves as a dynamic forum for dialogue and fostering collaboration. Among the distinguished speakers is Tiziana Vanorio, Associate Professor in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department at the School of Sustainability, Stanford University. Vanorio, who leads the Rock Physics and Geomaterials Laboratory, will share her insights on the physical and mechanical properties of rocks and geomaterials—key to developing more sustainable infrastructure and resource management.  

What is the focus of your work?

I am a geophysicist specializing in rock physics and geomaterials. My research group focuses on subsurface processes, particularly the characterization of reservoirs and rock seals through cementation—a natural example of material healing—and its impact on physical and mechanical properties. Traditionally, geophysicists have studied faulting in the context of earthquakes by examining how rocks deform and fracture. However, my research takes the opposite approach: rather than studying breakage, I focus on cementation. We can think of the Earth’s crust as functioning like a large-scale cement plant, where faulting grinds rock into micron or finer scales. Subsurface heat, much like a kiln, then calcines this material, priming it for hydration reactions that ultimately drive cementation. This paradigm shift offers a more direct framework for understanding how rock microstructures form and govern macroscopic properties. 

Can you share a glimpse of what you’ll be discussing at WISE Dialogue 2025?

Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is a critical material in industrial civilization, ranking as the second most used material globally after water, with an annual output of 4.4 billion tons and over a ten-fold increase in production over the past 65 years. However, its manufacturing is unsustainable and wasteful, contributing to 8% of global CO₂ emissions, most of which stem from the calcination of limestone. The release of CO₂ not only harms environmental sustainability but also causes a 44% mass loss of limestone, leading to wasted transportation costs. At the WISE Dialogue, I will present our cement technology, Phlego—a low-carbon, white cement designed for seamless integration into existing manufacturing processes. Phlego is inspired by the natural hydraulic cementation observed in rocks, employing a geomimetic approach. Developed through a geosciences-engineering partnership that integrates rock physics, materials science, and chemical engineering, Phlego uses a novel raw material: a blend of carbonate-free volcanic rocks that eliminates direct CO₂ emissions from calcination while promoting the in situ, rapid growth of entangled fibrous phases, leading to a unique microstructure. The result is a sustainable, cost-effective cement, driven by higher throughput, that matches the strength of OPC while enhancing ductility.