Displaying items by tag: CO2
Saudi Arabia: City Cement subsidiary Nizak Mining Company has entered talks with UK-based calcined clay producer Next Generation SCM about a possible joint venture. The proposed joint venture will build a reduced-CO2 concrete plant in Riyadh, with further such plants to follow. TradeArabia News has reported that commercial-scale production will commence in mid-late 2025, with an initial target capacity of 350,000t/yr.
City Cement CEO Majed Alosailan said "This joint venture is a significant step in our commitment to the continued growth of Saudi Arabia as a global materials and infrastructure hub. Not only will it support domestic job creation, it will also dramatically improve accessibility to critical low-carbon materials that we will soon be able to export around the region. As the materials transition continues to accelerate, finding solutions that support the Kingdom’s infrastructure ambitions hand in hand with sustainability targets is essential to realise the opportunity ahead."
Next Generation SCM CEO Christian Husum said "There are over 4bn people who live in urban areas right now, and that is going to increase by 2bn over the next 30 years. This is a massive, global building project, which is equivalent to building an additional New York City every month. Those cities will also need the infrastructure to cope with an influx of people and there is no way to do that without concrete. There is also no way for our planet to cope with concrete production at that scale unless we find a way of producing it without generating enormous amounts of carbon emissions. Now, there is a way. This joint venture will put the process into practice to bring about a revolution in how we build everything from stadiums to skyscrapers in Saudi Arabia, the Middle East and then the world.”
Holcim and Climate Pledge Fund co-invest in Paebbl and 14Trees
10 October 2024Sweden/Switzerland: Holcim has partnered with US-based retail company Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund to invest in CO2-sequestering concrete filler developer Paebbl and 3D printers 14Trees. The Paebbl investment is part of a US$25m Series A funding round jointly led by Germany-based venture capital firm Capnamic. Holcim says that the new investment will help Paebbl to scale up. Meanwhile, 14Trees, which is a joint venture of Holcim and British International Investment, will also scale up its operations to begin 3D printing larger buildings, including data centres.
Paebbl co-CEO Marta Sjögren said "We are thrilled to welcome first movers in their respective fields, Amazon and Holcim, as first commercial partners to bring our vision to market. This funding round enables us to take even bolder steps in our mission to make the built environment a cornerstone of the decarbonised economy."
14Trees managing director Francois Perrot said "We are excited to count Amazon and Holcim as investors in 14 Trees, to take our successful 3D-printed technology from homes and schools to data centres, to deliver low-carbon and high-performance buildings."
Holcim’s chief sustainability officer Nollaig Forrest said "By investing with Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund into 14Trees and Paebbl, we can scale up these pioneering technologies to push the boundaries of sustainable building, from 3D printing to making concrete a carbon sink."
Japan: Taiheiyo Cement says it is progressing with its C4S project to develop a novel concrete imbued with CO2 from direct air capture (DAC). The project is a collaboration with the University of Tokyo, with support from the Japanese New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO). Taiheiyo Cement says that concrete developed by the partnership aids faster CO2 capture via DAC, increasing strength, confirmed seismic resistance and carbon neutrality per full life-cycle assessment.
Taiheiyo Cement says that the eventual certification of DAC-carbonated concrete will play a significant role in the decarbonisation of the Japanese construction sector.
Ready-mix concrete producers in Jeonju to obtain environmental product declarations
26 September 2024South Korea: 13 small and medium-sized operators of ready-mix concrete plants in Jeonju, North Jeolla, have announced their intent to procure environmental product declarations (EPDs) for their products. The companies include Daeyeon Concrete and Seoji Ready-mixed Concrete. The Maeil Business Newspaper has reported that construction firm Posco E&C will cover part of the costs of the certifications.
Posco E&C said that this collaboration will help it to ensure a supply of reduced-CO2 concrete for its upcoming residential property developments in Jeonju.
US: Carbon Limit has announced the launch of CoolCrete, an additive designed to lower the temperature of concrete by over 10°C through advanced thermal emittance and enhanced solar reflectance. The company says that CoolCrete-treated concrete will help to tackle the urban heat island effect. By reducing the proportion of cement in concrete, it also lowers its CO2 emissions by up to 40%. Licensed affiliates Bison Innovative Products and NCP Industries are set to incorporate CoolCrete in commercial and residential concrete products later in 2024.
The launch page for CoolCrete on Carbon Limit’s website can be found here.
Néolithe supplies Anthropocite circular aggregates for Marseille bus depot project with Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies
11 September 2024France: Circular aggregates producer Néolithe has partnered with Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies and Groupe GCC to produce a fuel loading slab for a temporary bus depot in Marseille. The slab will be made of Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies’ H-UKR clinker-free cement and Néolithe’s mixed circular materials-based Anthropocite aggregates. The resulting slab will serve as a test for the use of H-UKR concrete in future Groupe GCC projects.
The partners say that a mix of H-UKR cement with 20% Anthropocite reduces CO₂ emissions by 63% compared to CEM II/A cement-based concrete produced using conventional aggregates, to 62kg CO₂eq/m³.
Groupe GCC executive vice-president Patrick Dubourg said "This project perfectly illustrates one of GCC's key priorities: implementing sustainable solutions. The work we've been doing for several years with Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies enables us to take tangible action in this direction, and the partnership with Néolithe enables us to take a further step in the direction of decarbonisation, an essential issue for construction.”
Laurence Hemerit, infrastructure director at customer Marseille Metropolitan Transport Authority (RTM), said "RTM found GCC's proposal very interesting in that it enabled us to carry out a large-scale, long-term comparative test to assess the qualities of low-carbon concrete. Our temporary bus storage site was therefore the ideal candidate for this experiment."
Al Kifah Ready Mix & Blocks updates on sustainable practices
11 September 2024Saudi Arabia: Al Kifah Ready Mix & Blocks has updated the market on its achievements in the sustainable concrete space in Saudi Arabia. The producer’s mixes include slag-based aggregates, as well as natural pozzolans and CO2 injected using equipment developed by Canada-based CarbonCure. Gulf Construction News has reported that the company's range of ultra-low CO2 ConGreen concrete products and BloGreen concrete blocks have supported projects including the Aramco Stadium project in Al Khobar, Qiddiya amusement park in Riyadh and King Salman Global Maritime Industries Complex in Jubail.
General Manager Nigel Harries said "Al Kifah Ready Mix & Blocks’ products have been widely adopted in mega and giga projects across the kingdom and have proved their high performance, thus strengthening the company’s position in the Saudi market. Al Kifah’s green solutions have unique properties that facilitate tasks on the job site through their better workability and finishability. They can be considered an all-in-one solution, offering zero wastage, zero mobilisation time, lower emissions and a smart way for supplying concrete in remote areas."
Cemex USA delivers Vertua reduced-CO2 concrete for Mission Rock project in San Francisco
09 September 2024US: Cemex USA has supplied 42,800t of its Vertua reduced-CO2 concrete to property developer Tishman Speyer for Phase 1 of the Mission Rock mixed-use development in San Francisco, California. Vertua concrete offers enhanced sustainability for construction projects compared to conventional concrete through its reduced emissions, energy efficiency, use of recycled materials, water conservation and design optimisation. Phase 1 of the project involved the construction of foundations for two blocks of apartments and an office block. Contractor Webcor first broke ground on the project in 2020.
Cemex USA West Regional President Francisco Rivera said "We are excited to contribute to a forward-thinking project such as Mission Rock by delivering our eco-conscious building materials, advancing sustainability efforts in San Francisco.
Cemex France reduces transport emissions from concrete and aggregates by 10% between 2021 and 2023
23 August 2024France: Cemex France reduced the total emissions of CO2 from its concrete and aggregates logistics operations by 10% in the two years between 2021 and 2023. The company achieved this through various initiatives, including equipment upgrades, route optimisation and the substitution of alternative fuels, including hydrogenated vegetable oil in pusher vessels, and biogas where possible. The producer says that the reduction aligns with its FRET21 transport sustainability initiative, as well as its Future in Action 2050 net zero roadmap.
Cemex France is currently preparing to renew or expand its commitment to the FRET21 initiative for another three years.
Betolar patents new accelerator for CEM III/B cements
23 August 2024Finland: Betolar has procured a patent for a new accelerator solution for use in CEM III/B slag cement mixes. The company says that the product enables the achievement of conventional demoulding times in the production of concrete elements using slag cement with a clinker content of 20 – 34%. It will also enable its use in hollow-core slabs and as shotcrete in the mining industry.
President and CEO Tuija Kalpala said "Our patented innovation paves the way for the large-scale use of cement mixtures in the production of concrete elements and products, significantly reducing CO2 emissions."