Posts in the Category: Mevo perspectives
Thought leadership from Material Evolution’s people.
Meet the team: Dr Dali Bondar
At Material Evolution, we’re on a mission to radically transform the construction industry through sustainable, ultra-low carbon materials.
After a successful year advancing low-carbon infrastructure, helping our partners reduce concrete emissions and tackling climate change head-on, we’re proud to have our efforts recognised through a growing range of awards, accreditations and industry shortlistings.
These accolades highlight the impact of our team and the success of MevoCem, our ultra-low carbon cement, which demonstrates our innovative approach to cement production. As we continue to drive sustainable innovation, we are accelerating momentum for a greener, more resilient built environment.
Awards
Constructing Excellence Wales: Innovation Award
Mevo was awarded the Innovation Award by Constructing Excellence Wales in 2025, celebrating our Mevo A1 Production Facility based in Llay, Wrexham, and its unique approach to ultra-low carbon cement production.
The groundbreaking factory uses no heat or kilns to combine the constituent ingredients of its cement – contrary to the traditional production process that has been scrutinised for its vast carbon output. Instead, the production facility relies on Mevo’s patented alkali-fusion process to produce a cement that delivers up to 85% lower CO₂ emissions.
Constructing Excellence National: Innovation Award
After winning the Constructing Excellence Wales Award, Mevo claimed the national Innovation Award in the same year.
Moving from regional acclaim to national impact, this recognition takes the company’s work one step further – placing the Mevo A1 Production Facility on the UK map as the largest plant of its kind more than ever before, while cementing Mevo’s position as a driving force in the domestic manufacturing landscape.
Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) Top 100 Most Influential Women in Construction
Under our CEO and co-founder Dr. Liz Gilligan’s visionary leadership, Mevo is revolutionising one of the most carbon-intensive industries. Concrete production contributes to approximately 8% of global CO₂ emissions and Liz is driving innovation that directly addresses this environmental challenge.
In September 2025, Liz won the CITB Top 100 Most Influential Women in Construction Awards in the most influential SME/Trade leader category, recognising her leadership and tangible impact in piloting transformative construction technologies.
UK Green Business Awards: Entrepreneur of the Year and Low Carbon Industrial Project Awards
Following two submissions to the UK Business Green Awards – for Entrepreneur of the Year and Low Carbon Industrial Project – Liz and the team celebrated success on both fronts.
Liz earned high praise from the judges at Business Green for her exceptional innovation and her remarkable journey in growing Mevo from a garage-based startup into one of the UK’s most exciting ventures in low-carbon cement. Meanwhile, the Mevo A1 Production Facility was recognised for its scale and capabilities, cementing its position as the UK’s largest producer of ultra-low carbon cement.
Unlock Net Zero Awards 2025 – Shortlist
Mevo was shortlisted for the 2025 Unlock Net Zero Awards, recognising its outstanding contributions to a carbon-free future within the built environment. Our ultra-low carbon cement, MevoCem, was nominated for Product Innovation of the Year, highlighting pioneering solutions that make a real impact on the journey to net zero – products that are not only innovative in concept, but transformative in practice.
Women Innovators in Foundation Industries Awards 2025 – Shortlist
Liz was named on the shortlist for the Women Innovators in Foundation Industries Awards, alongside other outstanding female leaders driving transformative change in traditionally male-dominated sectors.
Changing the status quo of the construction industry through innovation, leadership and collaboration has always been one of Liz’s ambitions. This recognition celebrates exactly that, highlighting how her work advancing sustainable, ultra-low carbon cement solutions reinforces both her influence and the broader impact of Mevo in creating a greener, more resilient built environment.
Earthshot Prize Nomination by CIPA
In June 2025, MevoCem was nominated for the Earthshot Prize by the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA).
The Earthshot Prize is a global environmental award that recognises and supports innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing climate and sustainability challenges. Accordingly, the nomination underlined our innovative fusion of advanced chemistry and AI-driven material development, which is not only transforming the construction industry but also setting new standards for sustainable innovation.
Norrsken Impact 100 List
Mevo secured a place on the Norrsken Impact/100 list in both 2023 and 2025. The annual list highlights the world’s most promising early-stage impact startups committed to moving the dial closer toward United Nations’ sustainable development goals.
In 2023, Mevo was selected from over 1,400 global nominations. Two years later, the second recognition further underscored our ongoing work and efforts to revolutionise the construction industry by rethinking materials and driving scalable change.
TechRound – Sustainability 60
Mevo was featured by TechRound as one of the leading sustainable startups in the UK, thanks to our patented alkali-fusion process, the UK’s largest ultra-low carbon cement factory and our ambition to reduce one gigatonne of CO₂ emissions by 2040.
Accreditations
Made in Britain
In October 2025, Mevo received the Made in Britain accreditation for the production of our ultra-low carbon cement, MevoCem.
Manufactured at our Mevo A1 Production Facility in Wrexham, MevoCem delivers up to an 85% reduction in CO₂ emissions compared to traditional Portland cement. With an annual production capacity of 120,000 tonnes, this accreditation is another step in demonstrating that ultra-low carbon cement can be produced at scale here in the UK.
Driving excellence across industry programmes
CRH Ventures & Tarmac Sustainable Materials Accelerator
In April 2025, Mevo was selected as a winner of CRH Ventures’ Sustainable Building Materials Accelerator. The accelerator looks to support pioneering materials and technologies that reduce emissions, minimise waste and improve energy efficiency across the construction value chain.
Following a successful pitch, we launched a 12-month pilot project in July 2025 with CRH and Tarmac to demonstrate the performance of MevoCem under the new BSI Code of Practice Flex 350.
Barclays Unreasonable Impact Programme
In March 2025, Liz was selected to join Barclays’ UK & Europe Unreasonable Impact programme. Unreasonable Impact is a strategic partnership between Unreasonable Group and Barclays and supports high-growth ventures aiming to scale and address significant social and environmental challenges.
Through the programme, Liz has joined hands with other entrepreneurs to accelerate the impact of Material Evolution’s sustainable cement solutions, navigating the complexities of the construction sector along the way.
Google for Startups Accelerator Programme
Being selected to join the Google for Startups Accelerator – Sustainability and Climate Edition was another highlight in 2025. The global programme brings together high-potential startups tackling climate challenges head-on and equips them with the tools and support needed to succeed.
Over the course of the accelerator, our team received tailored mentorship, technical guidance and access to Google’s network of experts to help scale MevoCem and advance our mission to reshape the construction industry.
Participation in the programme further amplified Mevo’s visibility on the global stage, connecting us with potential partners, collaborators and investors who share our commitment to sustainable innovation.
Global Cement and Concrete Association Open Challenge 2025
Earlier this year, Mevo was invited to participate in the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) Open Challenge, a global initiative spotlighting the most innovative startups driving aggressive change in the construction and building materials sector.
The opportunity showcased Mevo’s ultra-low carbon cement solutions to industry leaders and potential collaborators, further enhancing our footprint and call for industry mobilisation toward sustainable construction innovation.