Organised by the National Council for Cement and Building Materials-Incubation Centre (NCB-IC), the CemHack for Green Infra hackathon was a first-of-its-kind event for the cement and construction sector.
A national-level hackathon called the ‘CemHack for Green Infra’ was launched to encourage innovation and ideation in the construction and cement industries. This unique initiative was inaugurated by Sanjiv, Joint Secretary, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, in presence of Professor KK Pant, Director, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee; Neeraj Akhoury, Chairman-NCB & MD-Shree Cement; and Dr LP Singh, Director General-National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCB). The event took place on 20th May 2025 at NCB Ballabgarh, and was attended by research scholars, students, industry experts and NCB scientists and engineers.
Sanjiv, JS-DPIIT, complimented NCB Incubation Centre in organising the hackathon for cement and construction sector on the first anniversary of its establishment. He desired that the reputed institutes and colleges like IITs, NITs, technical universities and regional institutes, should be encouraged for maximum participation in this hackathon. He hoped to see success stories from startups incubated at NCB.
Professor Pant supported NCB’s effort in organising this hackathon as it brought a unique opportunity for students, research scholars and researchers. The participants got the opportunity to showcase their innovative ideas and get support from the industry. He informed that IIT Roorkee is collaborating with NCB on plasma-based electrification and carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) in the cement sector.
In his speech, Akhoury emphasised that the Indian cement industry is at the forefront of adopting newer technologies and innovation. In the light of the MoU between Shree Cement signed MoU and StartUp India, which was signed last year, the company will continue to extend its support to NCB in organising this event and supporting the winners of the hackathon.
While speaking at the event Dr Singh stated that the purpose of organising hackathon to promote innovation in cement and construction sector. He also highlighted the endeavours of NCB towards Net Zero in cement industry including award of project grant to a consortium of NCB-IIT Roorkee-J K Cement, by Department of Science & Technology, Government of India on establishing CCU test beds in cement sector. He also showcased the outline to establish Centre of Excellence at NCB Ballabgarh on CCU in cement sector.
Dr SK Chaturvedi, Joint Director and Secretary-NCB, proposed vote of thanks on the occasion. He thanked DPIIT, Shree Cement, JSW Cement and J K Cement for supporting the hackathon.
The hackathon aims at fostering innovation and building an entrepreneurial ecosystem in the cement, construction, building materials and allied sectors in India. NCB Incubation Centre serves as an umbrella platform providing comprehensive support from start to scale for entrepreneurship and start-ups. It facilitates the commercialisation of ground-level research by promoting innovation and product development.
Dr Kapil Kukreja, GM & Incharge-NCB Incubation Centre briefed about the hackathon ‘CemHack for Green Infra’ and informed that this has been organised to foster innovation and develop sustainable, technology-driven solutions in the cement ecosystem. There will be two tracks in this hackathon: First track for startups, professionals and individuals and second track for students, researchers and academia. Participating teams will address real-world challenges faced by the cement sector. There will be no participation fee.
There are six themes of hackathon as follows:
1. Green Cement (alternative raw materials, higher use and new types of supplementary cementitious materials, new binders, AI/ML application etc.)
2. Green Process (H2, solar thermal, micro grids, waste heat recovery, alternative fuels, AI/ML application etc.)
3. Green Concrete (sustainable and novel materials and special concrete application)
4. Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage in Cement Industry
5. Logistics and Supply Chain Management in Cement and Construction Industry
6. Achieving Net Zero and Sustainable Development Goals in Cement and Construction Industry
Rewards and benefits for the winners:
- Track-1: Startup/professionals/individuals
- First Place Winner: Rs.1,00,000
- Second Place Winner: Rs.50,000/-
- Third Place Winner: Rs.30,000/-
(With incubation opportunity at NCB-IC)
Track-2: Students/Research Scholars/Academia
- First Place Winner: Rs.75,000/-
- Second Place Winner: Rs.35,000/-
- Third Place Winner: Rs.15,000/-
(With certificates and mentoring opportunity at NCB)
NCB is an apex research and development organisation under the administrative control of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. NCB is dedicated to research, technology development and transfer, education and industrial services for cement, allied building materials and construction industries. NCB’s areas of work span over the entire spectrum of cement manufacturing and usage-starting with geological exploration of raw materials through the processes, the machinery, the manufacturing aspects, energy and environmental considerations to the final utilisation of materials in actual construction, condition monitoring and rehabilitation of buildings and structures.