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Non-Metallic Products & Industries
EU policy, regulation and market intelligence affecting cement, lime, ceramics, glass and other non-metallic mineral products — from raw materials and energy costs to industrial emissions, CBAM, construction rules, circularity and decarbonisation.
Europe's non-metallic mineral industries transform limestone, silica, clays and other naturally occurring minerals into essential industrial and consumer products.
Cement, lime, glass and ceramics support construction, infrastructure, automotive production, steelmaking, packaging, food and beverages, electronics and numerous specialised manufacturing activities.
Most production processes require very high temperatures. Energy prices, carbon costs and industrial decarbonisation have therefore become central competitiveness issues.
The main non-metallic mineral industries
Cement
Cement is a fundamental input for concrete and therefore for buildings, roads, bridges, energy infrastructure and civil engineering. Production is highly capital- and energy-intensive and generates substantial process emissions.
Lime
Lime is used in construction, steelmaking, environmental protection, agriculture, water treatment, chemicals, paper, glass and many other industrial processes.
Ceramics
European ceramics include bricks and roof tiles, wall and floor tiles, sanitary ware, tableware, refractories, clay pipes and advanced technical ceramics.
Glass
Glass is used in packaging, buildings, vehicles, renewable energy, fibre applications, electronics, pharmaceuticals and specialised industrial products.
From minerals to industrial products
Energy intensity is the central competitiveness issue
Cement, lime, ceramics and glass all require high-temperature industrial processes. Energy therefore represents a major component of production costs.
In cement manufacturing, approximately 120 kWh of electricity can be required per tonne of cement, in addition to substantial thermal energy requirements.
European producers are therefore particularly exposed to electricity and gas prices and to the availability of affordable low-carbon energy.
Long-lived plants and high investment costs
Non-metallic mineral industries are highly capital intensive. Kilns and furnaces have long operating lives, making rapid technology substitution difficult.
Cement Europe estimates that the investment cost of cement production capacity is generally above €200 million per one million tonnes of annual capacity.
Carbon-capture installations can require several hundred million euros of additional investment at an individual plant.
Cement: construction material and carbon challenge
Cement is indispensable to European construction and infrastructure. Unlike many industrial emissions, a significant share of cement-sector CO₂ is generated by the chemical transformation of limestone itself rather than simply by fuel combustion.
This makes deep decarbonisation particularly challenging. Efficiency improvements, lower-clinker cement, alternative fuels and circular raw materials can reduce emissions, but carbon capture is expected to play an important role in dealing with residual process emissions.
Cement and CBAM
Cement is one of the six sectors covered by the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
The definitive CBAM regime has applied since 1 January 2026. Importers of covered cement products above the applicable threshold must comply with CBAM requirements concerning embedded carbon emissions.
The mechanism is intended to reduce the risk that rising European carbon costs shift production or demand toward more carbon-intensive imports.
Lime: a hidden input across European industry
Lime is produced by heating limestone or chalk at temperatures above 900°C. The resulting material is used across multiple industrial chains.
Steelmaking, construction, environmental protection, agriculture, drinking-water and wastewater treatment, paper, chemicals and glass all depend on lime products.
Like cement, lime production generates unavoidable process emissions from the calcination of limestone. Carbon capture and transport infrastructure are therefore increasingly relevant to the sector's long-term decarbonisation strategy.
European ceramics: industrial scale with strong SME participation
The European ceramics industry generates approximately €31 billion in annual turnover and more than 200,000 direct jobs.
The sector includes large industrial producers as well as a substantial number of specialised SMEs. Products range from bricks, tiles and sanitary ware to refractories, tableware and high-performance technical ceramics.
European ceramics remain strongly export-oriented but face increasing pressure from energy costs, carbon costs and international competitors.
Glass: around 40 million tonnes a year
The European glass industry produces approximately 40 million tonnes of glass annually. Production takes place at roughly 500 manufacturing plants across around 25 European countries.
Glass Alliance Europe estimates that the wider glass value chain supports around 500,000 jobs.
The industry covers container glass, flat glass, domestic glass, special glass and glass fibre. Demand therefore comes from packaging, construction, automotive production, pharmaceuticals, energy and advanced manufacturing.
Glass and circularity
Glass can be repeatedly recycled. Recycled cullet can replace virgin raw materials in furnaces and can also reduce the amount of energy required for melting.
Collection quality and separation therefore have direct implications for energy use, raw-material demand and emissions.
EU ETS and carbon costs
Major cement, lime, glass and ceramics installations fall within the EU industrial carbon-policy framework, including the EU Emissions Trading System where the relevant thresholds apply.
Carbon costs therefore increasingly influence plant competitiveness and investment choices alongside energy prices.
The combination of carbon pricing, industrial policy and decarbonisation funding will be one of the defining factors for the future location of energy-intensive production in Europe.
The revised Industrial Emissions Directive
Non-metallic mineral producers are also affected by the Industrial Emissions Directive, which regulates pollution from major industrial installations through integrated permitting and Best Available Techniques.
Directive (EU) 2024/1785 revised the Industrial Emissions Directive. Member States had to transpose the relevant amendments by 1 July 2026.
The revised framework gives greater weight to resource efficiency, circularity, water use and industrial transformation alongside conventional pollutant emissions.
The new Construction Products Regulation
A large share of non-metallic mineral production ultimately enters Europe's construction sector.
Regulation (EU) 2024/3110 introduced a new EU framework for construction products. Its main provisions became applicable from 8 January 2026, with individual product families progressively migrating from the previous regime.
The new framework strengthens environmental product information, digitalisation, traceability and the basis for future sustainability requirements for construction products.
Raw materials and local production
Many of the industry's principal raw materials — limestone, clay, silica, gypsum and aggregates — are available within Europe.
Because these materials are heavy relative to their value, transport costs can be significant. Production facilities are therefore frequently located close to raw-material deposits and downstream regional markets.
From waste to industrial feedstock
Non-metallic mineral industries already use significant quantities of alternative materials and industrial residues.
Cement kilns can incorporate certain wastes as alternative fuels or raw materials; cullet returns to glass furnaces; recycled aggregates and demolition materials can re-enter construction-material value chains.
Circularity can therefore reduce dependence on virgin materials, lower waste volumes and, in some processes, reduce energy and carbon requirements.
European production under competitive pressure
Cement, ceramics, glass and lime belong to Europe's energy-intensive industrial base. In 2026 European energy-intensive sectors continued to warn that high energy prices, increasing carbon costs and global competition were affecting production and investment.
For non-metallic mineral products, the risk is particularly significant because plants are capital intensive, difficult to relocate incrementally and often require decades-long investment horizons.
Where demand comes from
Construction
Cement, concrete, lime, bricks, tiles, insulation, ceramics and flat glass are fundamental building materials.
Infrastructure
Roads, bridges, railways, energy infrastructure and civil engineering generate substantial demand.
Automotive
Flat and technical glass, ceramics and specialised mineral products are used throughout vehicle production.
Packaging
Container glass remains a major packaging material for food, beverages, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
Steel & metals
Lime and refractory ceramics are essential inputs for steelmaking and metallurgical processes.
Clean technologies
Glass and advanced ceramics are increasingly used in solar energy, electronics, insulation and high-performance industrial applications.
What to watch next
- Energy prices: whether electricity and gas costs allow European kilns and furnaces to remain globally competitive.
- Cement CBAM: implementation of the definitive CBAM regime and its effect on cement import flows and carbon costs.
- EU ETS: the evolution of carbon costs and free allocation for energy-intensive installations.
- Industrial Emissions Directive: implementation of the revised requirements following the 1 July 2026 transposition deadline.
- Construction Products Regulation: migration of cement, ceramics, glass and other product families into the new CPR framework.
- Carbon capture: investment decisions for cement and lime plants where process emissions are difficult to eliminate.
- Alternative fuels: availability and regulatory treatment of alternative energy sources for high-temperature processes.
- Secondary raw materials: greater use of cullet, recycled aggregates, demolition materials and industrial residues.
- Construction demand: housing, renovation and infrastructure trends affecting cement, lime, glass and ceramics production.
- Trade: growing competitive pressure from imports produced under different energy and carbon-cost conditions.
Related eEuropa intelligence
EU institutional and industry sources
- European Commission — Non-metallic products and industries
- European Commission — Cement and Lime
- European Commission — Glass
- Glass Alliance Europe — Facts and figures
- Cerame-Unie — European Ceramic Industry
- Cement Europe — Key facts and figures
- European Commission — CBAM definitive regime
- European Commission — Construction Products Regulation
- Regulation (EU) 2024/3110 — Construction Products Regulation
- Directive (EU) 2024/1785 — Industrial Emissions
From industrial regulation to business intelligence
eEuropa monitors EU energy and climate policy, CBAM, industrial-emissions rules, construction-product regulation, circularity measures and market developments affecting cement, lime, ceramics, glass and related industries.
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