Displaying items by tag: CO2

UK: SigmaRoc subsidiary CCP has launched Greenbloc Standard, Ultra and Premium. The new designations correspond to 50%, 80% and 100% cement substitution. Professional Builder News has reported that Using Greenbloc Standard reduces structures’ CO₂ emissions by 77% compared with structures built with conventional ordinary Portland cement (OPC)-based blocks. For an average semi-detached house, this is equivalent to 2.7t of CO₂.

CCP general manager Phil Rotheram said “The expansion of our Greenbloc range continues our commitment to sustainable alternatives to our product offering as we fully commit to the challenges of removing embodied carbon from the built environment.”

Greenbloc Ultra featured in a gold medal-winning garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023 in May 2023.

Brazil: Eternit has launched Eternit Solar, a fibre cement photovoltaic roof tile, across Brazil. Local press has reported that the tile has a power capacity of 142Wp, compared to 15Wp for conventional tiles. It is fully compatible with conventional fibre cement roof tiles in roof construction. Eternit says that four to six tiles will provide sufficient energy for a single home. The company tested the product in partnership with the Energy and Environment Institute of the University of São Paulo (IEE-USP) and the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC). It produces the Eternit Solar tiles at its Atibaia plant in São Paulo, but plans to subsequently build a dedicated plant.

Eternit president Luís Augusto Barbosa said "The commercialisation of Eternit Solar is an important step for the future of the company. While the concrete photovoltaic tile is aimed at a niche market, the fibre cement photovoltaic tile is intended for high-volume applications. It is a revolutionary technology that will benefit a larger section of the population due to its more accessible cost.” He concluded “Eternit is on the market to democratise solar energy.”

Europe: 12 decarbonisation-focused companies from across the European cement and concrete sector have launched the Alliance for Low-Carbon Cement & Concrete (ALCC). The alliance has called on policymakers to change building standards to help low-carbon alternatives to enter the cement and concrete markets. It further said that green procurement and targeted financing instruments would help to reduce sectoral CO₂ emissions. It said that a progressive decline in clinker factor to 60%, 50% or 40% by 2050 will reduce CO₂ emissions by over 50%. The ALCC says that it is ready to lead the sector towards a swift, low-cost and viable decarbonisation pathway. Participants in the alliance include France-based Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies, Ireland-based Ecocem and US-based Fortera.

Fortera's Europe director Thierry Legrand said "Climate action is a global priority, and collaboration is essential to advancing emissions-reducing technologies and policies. This alliance represents collective action by scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and environmental advocates to reduce CO₂ emissions from cement production."

India: Adani Cement subsidiaries ACC and Ambuja Cements have launched the Cement and Concrete Research and Development Facility at Kalamboli in Maharashtra. Dion News Service has reported that the focus of the centre will lie in product development, productivity enhancement and increasing the efficiency of cement and concrete production.

Adani Cement CEO Ajay Kapur said "Our new research and development facility is our reinforcement towards our collective commitment to pushing boundaries, driving innovation, and addressing industry challenges."

US: Holcim US has begun selling ECOPact reduced-CO₂ concrete in the Colorado Springs, Denver and Pueblo markets in Colorado. The producer says that the range offers 30 - 90% lower CO₂ emissions than concrete produced using ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Colorado aims to achieve CO₂ emissions reductions of 50% by 2030 and 90% by 2050.

Holcim US' Mountain regional general manager and senior vice president Kevin Peart said "Sustainable construction is essential to building a net-zero future in Colorado and across the nation. Denver has consistently ranked as one of the fastest-growing areas in the nation, and Colorado Springs is projected to become the state's largest city within the next 15 years. Low-carbon, high-performance building solutions such as ECOPact are essential to mitigating climate change and creating a more sustainable, resilient urban landscape."

Austria: Alpacem Gruppe subsidiary w&p Beton has commenced construction of a new ready-mixed concrete plant in Klagenfurt, Carinthia. Recovered industrial heat will power operations at the plant, reducing CO₂ emissions by 40t/yr. It will also use reduced-CO₂ cement supplied by the group's Wietersdorf cement plant. The concrete producer says that the ready-mix concrete plant will cost Euro3m and be ready for commissioning in early 2024.

US: A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a new method to sequester CO₂ in concrete before curing it. The method is based on the addition of bicarbonate of soda, which reacts with cement to produce a calcium carbonate-calcium silicone hydrate composite. The Journal of Engineering has reported that the method adds the benefits of CO₂ mineralisation during production and casting, doubling the mechanical performance of early-stage concrete. It also eliminates the effects of carbonation reactions in cured concrete, which weaken the concrete by lowering its alkalinity, which accelerates the corrosion of rebar. The method has the potential to sequester 15% of CO₂ emissions from cement production.

The team said “The pre-curing capacity of concrete to sequester CO₂ has been largely underestimated and underutilised. Our new discovery could further be combined with other recent innovations in the development of lower carbon footprint concrete admixtures to provide much greener, and even carbon-negative, construction materials.”

Finland: VTT Technical Research Centre subsidiary Carbonaide has concluded its seed funding round, having raised funds worth Euro1.8m. Lakan Betoni, which produces precast and ready-mix concrete, led the funding, along with utilities provider Vantaa Energy. Carbonaide will use the funds to build an industrial pilot plant for its carbon neutral precast concrete product at an existing precast concrete plant in Hollola. The plant will bind captured CO₂ in the product at atmospheric pressure. The process generates 50% lower CO₂ emissions than precast concrete production using ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Suitable raw materials include ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), green liquor dregs and bio-ash. In trial production, the use of GGBFS gave Carbonaide's concrete a negative carbon footprint of -60kg/m³.

Other sources of loans and in-kind contributions included Finnish state innovation fund Business Finland.

US: Prometheus Materials’ microalgae-based biocement has secured certification for use in concrete masonry unit (CMU) mixes. The cement now holds an ASTM C129 certificate for use in non-loadbearing CMUs and an ASTM C90 certificate for use in loadbearing CMUs. Prometheus Materials’ biocement produces concrete with comparable or superior mechanical, physical and thermal properties to ordinary Portland cement (OPC)-based concrete. It offers little-to-no CO₂ emissions and 95% of water used in production is recycled.

Prometheus Materials CEO Loren Burnett said “We are thrilled to have achieved these two foundational certifications as we proceed in full force with our goal of decarbonising construction. Prometheus Materials’ product is poised to change the future of construction, converting one of the most carbon-polluting industries to a low-carbon – and one day net-zero carbon – reality.”

India: Antony Waste Handling Cell Limited (AWHCL) has won a US$124m contract for construction and demolition waste management services in Mumbai. Press Trust of India News has reported that the contract covers nine municipal subdivisions of the city and will last until 2044. AWHCL said that the contract will enable it to develop the circularity of cement and concrete within the local economy. It expects to commission 600t/day-worth of waste processing capacity by March 2023. The waste management company expects a recovery rate of 25% recyclable materials.

AWHCL chairman and managing director Jose Jacob said "This sub-segment of solid waste management provides tremendous growth opportunities given the number of infrastructure development projects underway, and the government's push to accelerate the economic growth with infrastructure being one of the important growth pillars."