DONAL O’RIAIN

UCD ENGINEERING

Donal O’Riain is the recipient of the Engineering award in recognition of his outstanding entrepreneurial achievements in carbon-neutral construction. Donal O’Riain graduated from Engineering in UCD in 1969. He is the founder and managing director of Ecocem, an independent specialist producer of ‘green’ cement.

Ecocem has reduced CO2 emissions in Ireland by over 1.5Mt since production began in 2003. Ecocem’s cement has been used in a series of high profile developments including the Convention Centre Dublin, the 3Arena and the Aviva Stadium. Ecocem has a European-wide, technology innovation programme to expand the range of applications and to continue the development of low-carbon cements. This programme will provide opportunities for ambitious technical development in Ireland in cooperation with Irish universities, building on research carried out at UCD.