We do not know officially of any products that claim to produce the same phases as Celitement. Celitement is also protected by worldwide patents. There is, however, a development in the form of the LTTB (Low Temperature Belite Binder) that, in a similar way to a basic patent of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology that is not currently being used by Celitement GmbH, produces highly reactive belite from alpha-C₂SH produced in autoclaves. If this is heated above about 490 °C it forms very reactive products that contain, among other things, X-C₂S and amorphous C₂S. With the LTTB it is claimed, however, that the grinding that is also carried out does not represent activation but serves only to set up suitable particle size distributions. Water-free, highly reactive, C₂S modifications can therefore definitely be produced by an autoclave process followed by high temperature treatment. However, they are not hCHS phases and also exhibit different properties. Nor are we aware that such materials have a REACH registration.

If you are interested in having discussions about purchasing a production licence then please get in touch directly with the management of Celitement GmbH & Co. KG.

Celitement GmbH & Co. KG will issue licences worldwide to interested building materials producers. If you would like to enter into negotiations for this please make contact with the management.

We have patents in 38 countries, not only in Germany and especially Europe, but also in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Denmark, Eurasia (Russia, Kazakhstan), Finland, France, Greece, Great Britain, the Gulf States, Indonesia, India, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Canada, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Czech Republic, Hungary and the USA.

Yes, only Celitement GmbH & Co. KG has a worldwide exclusive process and material licence for producing this new binding agent but if they are interested then other cement producers can obtain a sublicence from Celitement GmbH&Co.KG. However, we are assuming that licensees will first wait and see whether Schwenk Zement GmbH&Co.KG decides to build the first industrial plant. Only when this has successfully come into operation and the product is accepted by the market are other producers likely to show an interest in licences.

The Corona pandemic hit us in the middle of the takeover phase by Schwenk Zement GmbH & Co. KG. After the cooperation agreement with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) expired at the end of 2019 the personnel from the Institute of Industrial Chemistry (ITC) returned to their posts at the KIT. This meant that there was a shortage of personnel at Celitement GmbH and this then had to be built up again. This was made more difficult by the constraints associated with the Corona crisis. The extension of the pilot plant was more painful than without the Corona crisis. To this extent the virus has definitely somewhat hampered our fresh start in the last phase of the development towards the decision over the construction of an industrial plant. However, this is only temporary. We are certain that “Celitement GmbH 2.0” will very soon pick up speed.

No, at the moment we are not in need of advice on patent or trademark issues.

Any interested parties who would like to work with us are welcome to get in touch with the management of Celitement GmbH. We check every enquiry for, among other things, its compliance with competition law and its technological relevance.

In principle, we are interested in all technologies that will help us to achieve rapid success in the market. We have already negotiated some cooperation agreements with machine and plant manufacturers. The onward development of the production process until it is ready for industrial use requires very close, cross-sector cooperation with established and efficient plant manufacturers and machinery suppliers.
Against this background we had deliberately signed cooperation agreements with suitable plant manufacturers for fairly long periods right from the beginning of the preliminary planning activities for the first industrial reference plant.
Numerous service trials for the specification, design and procurement of the machine technology were also carried out in the pilot plants of the respective machine suppliers involved.

Yes, although this naturally depends on the issues involved and the requisite scope. Our interest in cooperating in publically funded R&D projects is best documented by reference to the two projects that have already been successfully completed. In principle, this is of continuing interest. However, the current focus is on the field of application-oriented and process engineering development rather than on basic research.
We are working urgently on product-related introduction of Celitement into the market and clarification of the remaining process engineering issues in relation to the design of the first industrial reference plant. We will therefore make any expenditure on pure research projects dependent precisely on the available facilities. However, we are in principle open to all good ideas and research approaches. Basically, we are interested in developing the widest possible range of possible applications for Celitements.

The plant is not open to the public. Nor can the North Campus grounds of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology be entered without a visitor’s permit. Visits to the pilot plant are only possible after approval by the management of Celitement GmbH & Co.KG.

Yes, in the initial phase and later as part of the application development process, Celitement GmbH was sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research through two large funded projects. Details can be found in the project reports and the information on our homepage.

A simple answer would be: because SCHWENK is convinced of the principle of Celitement as a binding agent. However, there are naturally also other considerations. Joint provision of the substantial funding for the requisite extension of the pilot plant, and also for the further business operation, could not be guaranteed with the former company structure. The extension should provide important market information that is still needed for the construction of an industrial plant. Any capital investment in a building materials production plant must be based on a dependable business model. For this there must be reliable prediction of the future sales quantities, which can only be achieved in collaboration with potential customers. They must be able to ensure that their products and applications developed previously with Celitements from the pilot plant can be produced in the same quality in industrial production plants. There are some thoroughly promising laboratory trials with Celitement test materials in progress in numerous application fields. However, extensive production trials under realistic conditions are often necessary as the next step although this frequently requires materials in the single-figure tonne range. Unfortunately, such quantities cannot be produced in the present pilot plant. It was therefore essential to invest in an extension of the plant with, among other things, a larger grinding unit that was also intended for a later industrial plant. The funds required for this could not be made available within the former company structure. SCHWENK had therefore offered the former co-partners a full takeover of their shares in Celitement so that the work of the previous years could be successfully continued and completed. The takeover of Celitement GmbH on 1.1.2020 not only enables the project to continue but also serves to secure a larger capital investment in the first industrial reference plant that has been planned by SCHWENK but not yet approved.

Celitement GmbH does not intend to build or to operate industrial plants. We are developing and providing advice on the fundamental processing engineering and material principles that are needed for licensing and providing technological advice to third parties. Together with machine and plant manufacturers we are therefore designing an industrial plant so that potential licensees have a dependable technical and design basis for the decision to take out a licence. The pilot plant in Karlsruhe is needed to produce larger test quantities to ensure the marketability of the product. This information will cover the requisite economic aspects to supplement the purely technical groundwork.