Displaying items by tag: UK

UK: A team at Northumbria University in Newcastle has launched new research into 3D printing using a new Platypus 3D concrete printer supplied by ChangeMaker 3D and Australia-based Luyten 3D. The university received funding for the equipment from national scientific academy the Royal Society.

UK: Russell Roof Tiles has installed a 165kW solar power plant as part of a €22.2m upgrade to its Burton concrete roof tiles plant in Staffordshire. Energy company Alt-Group supplied the solar power plant, which is equipped with Solis Inverters’ energy storage inverters. The upgraded Burton plant also features wash water recycling.

Russell Roof Tiles has signed a pledge to achieve Scope 1 and 2 CO₂ neutrality by 2040.

UK: Civil engineering joint venture Balfour Beatty Vinci has poured 1Mm³ of concrete in its on-going erection of structures for West Midlands sections of the HS2 Birmingham-London railway. Aggregate Industries, Cemex UK and Tarmac all supplied concrete for the works. Aggregate Industries’ concrete features in the Delta Junction interchange between HS2’s lines to Birmingham, London and Interchange Station in Solihull, outside Birmingham. The junction includes 13 viaducts across the valleys of the River Cole and River Tame. Meanwhile, Cemex UK’s concrete features in structures in Birmingham and Staffordshire and Tarmac’s concrete in structures in Birmingham and Warwickshire.

Altogether, HS2 railway structures in the West Midlands will require 1.9Mm3 of concrete, over 50% that of the entire project total, over a 90km stretch. 11 ready-mix batching plants serve the stretch, two of which are semi-battery-powered. Balfour Beatty Vinci and its suppliers have also made use of electric concrete mixer trucks for deliveries. They crossed the 1Mm³ milestone while building the 165m-long, four-track Chattle Hill railway bridge over the A446 road in Delta Junction. The bridge will use 10,200m³ of concrete.

UK: Switzerland-based Neustark has partnered with Holcim subsidiary Aggregate Industries to launch the UK’s first mineralisation plant in Greenwich, London. The small-scale mobile plant will sequester CO₂ in recycled concrete produced using fines recovered from construction and demolition materials (CDM). The plant is situated at an existing Aggregates Industries CDM recycling site. A large-scale plant with a sequestration capacity of 1000t/yr of CO₂ is due to follow in early 2025.

Neustark CEO Valentin Gutknecht said "Neustark and Holcim have been working together almost since the founding of Neustark five years ago. 1Mt of CO₂ durably removed from the atmosphere in 2030 – that’s our ambition. We’re already well underway towards the megatonne goal. Our strategic partnership with Holcim represents a significant part of this roadmap. It will be a true catalyst to further scale up the permanent carbon removal impact that we generate in the next few years.”

Aggregate Industries CEO Lee Sleight said that the partnership would turn London into ‘one of the world’s largest urban mines.’ He said “This isn’t just a great carbon removal innovation but a great circular economy innovation, where we are taking what was once a waste stream and reusing it, saving us from digging up virgin materials in the first place."

Neustark has so far sequestered 2500t of CO₂ in circular concrete for use in further construction.

UK: Graphene-enhanced concrete admixture developer Concretene has raised €3.5m in an investment round led by technology venture capital (VC) firm Molten Ventures. Fellow VC LocalGlobe supplied additional funding. Concretene says that the finances will support scale-up and product certification of its liquid admixture. The product increases various performance metrics of concrete, while reducing cement requirements, according to the developer. It derives its graphene from industrial by-products from the energy sector.

Concretene chief operating officer Mike Harrison said "We’re delighted to welcome Molten Ventures to join with us and LocalGlobe on our mission to decarbonise concrete. We also want to thank LocalGlobe for their enthusiasm and support in getting Concretene off the ground. Our team in Manchester has a unique combination of expertise and experience across construction and nanomaterial science, which will enable us to deliver our next stage of development and earn industry confidence and certification.”

George Chalmers, head of climate at Molten Ventures, said "Concretene has made tremendous strides in getting its technology out of the lab and into meaningful real-world projects and applications. Its solution, viable today, is poised to make a meaningful impact in reducing emissions in one of the hardest to abate sectors. We are delighted to support Concretene’s world-class team of scientists and operators in scaling its solution across the industry.”

UK: Shane Clee has acquired Forden Concrete Products, with the help of a €54,000 loan from the Development Bank of Wales. Forden Concrete Products specialises in feed and water troughs, slurry systems and foot baths for the dairy sector. Business Sale Report News has reported that the company is planning to expand its product range with an upcoming line of concrete wall panels for use in garden fencing.

Director Shane Clee said “After 24 years with Forden, this is a great opportunity to take on the business myself and work with our close-knit team to continue doing what we love and know best.”

Development Bank of Wales investment executive James Ryan said “We’re pleased to have been able to help Shane to become the new owner of Forden, particularly as it is a well-established business that employs local people. We wish the team every success.”

UK: US-based Stellex Capital Management has acquired ready-mix concrete producer and haulier Fox Brothers. Fox Brothers’ portfolio also includes aggregates recycling, quarrying and muck-away services, under subsidiaries including B&W Plant Hire & Sales, Monks Training Services, Tipworx and Woods Waste. Following its acquisition by Stellex Capital Management, Fox Brothers will now merge with ready-mix concrete and aggregates producer JA Jackson.

UK: Precast concrete producer FP McCann plans to invest €105m in expansions and upgrades to its plants. The plans include the launch of multiple new product lines, including a new decorative paving range, due for launch in September 2024. Another new line will build drainage pipes, complementing its portfolio of concrete products for below-ground applications. Upgrades include the installation of an additional bagging line at a mortars plant. Local press has reported that a total of 100 new jobs will be created as a result.

FP McCann said “We constantly take on board customer feedback, and the investment in these new products and services is driven by their needs. FP McCann’s unique multi-product load offering has been a fantastic success. Builders’ merchants no longer have to coordinate multiple deliveries of single product loads, each often carrying a part-load surcharge. With the introduction of our new decorative paving range, we can now offer up to eight different products on a single load, and as more products come online we will expand this service further.”

UK: Low Carbon Materials has participated in a trial project to build roads with lower embodied CO₂ emissions. The company supplied its ACLA carbon-negative aggregate for use in repairs to the M11 in Essex. National Highways has reported that CRH subsidiary Tarmac and Sweden-based construction firm Skanska also collaborated in the project.

National Highways’ research, development and innovation director Joanna White said "Solutions like this could have a real impact on our road to net zero carbon, so we are delighted that we have been able to accelerate the development of the product and get it on one of our roads for testing.”

UK: Ramboll has established its Sustainability Leadership Group to spearhead the decarbonisation strategy for UK construction. The team aims to be ‘powerhouse’ of cross-disciplinary expertise to support clients at every stage of their sustainability journey, through setting and achieving ambitious goals for their construction projects. Lora Brill will serve as the group’s Head of Sustainability for Buildings, while Austen Bates and Brogan MacDonald will serve as Sustainability Leads for Building Services and Building Structures, respectively, alongside Jac Yarwood as Head of Sustainable Solutions.

Lora Brill said, "I’m excited to put in place this exceptionally talented team that brings structural engineering, mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering and sustainability consultancy together to lead Ramboll’s incredible breadth and depth of technical expertise on sustainability in building design and engineering. The team will continue to drive more engagements in key industry initiatives like ConcreteZero and SteelZero, and lead our own such as CO2mpare, which transparently shares building projects carbon data. We are committed to being the Partner for Sustainable Change and this leadership team is just one more step in ensuring that we challenge current thinking and champion innovative approaches to sustainability."

ConcreteZero is an emissions measuring and reporting association for concrete jointly founded by Ramboll in mid-2022.