Displaying items by tag: alternative raw materials

France: Ireland-based Ecocem has entered into a new agreement with Saint-Gobain's France-based concrete subsidiary POINT.P. Under the agreement, Ecocem will supply its ACT alternative cement for use in POINT.P's precast and ready-mix concrete production. Ecocem said that the partnership is an opportunity for it to develop and market new low-carbon binders.

Ecocem executive director Olivier Guise said "This partnership with POINT.P is a natural extension of the alliance announced with the Saint-Gobain Group in October 2022. The shared objective is to accelerate the widespread deployment of low-carbon cements in France, both in the ready-mix concrete and precast concrete markets. By paving the way for the replacement of current traditional cements with ACT technology, our partner POINT.P has a real opportunity to meet its ambitious carbon reduction targets by 2030. We are firmly committed to this partnership and to working with a partner who shares our ambitions for rapid decarbonisation of the construction industry."

Ecocem is 25% owned by France-based Saint-Gobain.

France: Lafarge France is participating in a 76-unit housing development project called Recygénie, at Gennevilliers in Hauts-de-Seine. Lafarge France will supply the project with 100% recycled concrete for use in facades, interior walls and roof slabs. It produced 2000t of 100% recycled 'clinker' at its Altkirch cement plant in Haut-Rhin during a suspension of ordinary clinker production in 2022. It has produced 1600m³ of recycled concrete to date. The concrete won the New Materials Prize at L'Usine Nouvelle's Sustainable Industry Awards 2023.

The Recygénie housing project is due for delivery in late 2024.

World: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has named the 15 anticipated deliverers of low-CO₂ cement and concrete production shortlisted for participation in its second Innovandi Open Challenge. The association chose the start-ups based on their potential to deliver CO₂ emissions reduction in the global cement and concrete sector in line with its Concrete Future 2050 Net Zero Roadmap. The applicants are presenting their pitches to GCCA members on 30 June 2023. All those accepted will gain access to members' plants, labs, networks and expertise. The following start-ups made the Innovandi Open Challenge 2023 shortlist:

GCCA cement director and innovation lead Claude Loréa said “We received more than 70 quality applications, so drawing up a shortlist was challenging." Loréa continued "Our essential industry needs something easily scalable and affordable. Those start-ups on the list demonstrated the most potential, and we look forward to hearing more about their ideas. But we’ll also be keeping in touch with other start-ups who didn’t make this year’s shortlist, with future projects in mind.”

US: Eco Material Technologies has supplied its PozzoCEM Vite clinker-free cement to 3D printing construction firm Hive 3D for its The Casitas @ The Halles project in Texas. PozzoCEM Vite cement has 92% lower CO₂ emissions than ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The producer said that concrete produced using PozzoCEM Vite is also more durable and longer lasting than OPC-based concrete. Eco Material Technologies and Hive 3D developed a custom batching system to mix PozzoCEM Vite cement and local Texan sand for use in the project. Eco Material Technologies said that the system created a significant cost reduction compared with other available printable mortar technologies.

Eco Material Technologies recently launched a new 99% reduced CO₂ PozzoCEM formulation, which it expects to use in future projects with Hive 3D. Other reduced-CO₂ cements produced by Eco Material Technologies include its PozzoSlag 50% ground granulated blast furnace slag cement. In total, Eco Material Technologies has supplied 1Mt of reduced-CO₂ cements across 4000 construction sites since 2012. It said that it expects to announce multiple new infrastructure projects and strategic partnerships later in 2023.

Eco Material Technologies' CEO Grant Quasha said “Hive 3D’s commitment to building the first 100% cement replacement 3D printed homes aligns with our goal of transitioning the construction industry away from using materials that generate approximately 8% of the world’s carbon emissions each year."

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."

US: Holcim US has announced the launch of its ECOPact reduced-CO₂ concrete in the Fargo, North Dakota, and Twin Cities, Minnesota, metropolitan areas. ECOPact products offer up to 80% reduced CO₂ emissions compared with ordinary Portland cement (OPC)-based concretes, and can also integrate construction and demolition waste. Holcim US has sold the ECOPact range in Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington DC since 2020.

Holcim US' North Central regional senior vice president Randy Gaworski said "With countless developments already in the pipeline, and so much on the horizon, engineers, architects and developers are driving demand to integrate sustainable building practices throughout the region. This is an exciting opportunity to offer our customers high-quality, low-carbon products for meeting our shared commitments to sustainability and net-zero construction."

Namibia: Ohorongo Cement Namibia has supplied 3000m³ of cement to the site of NamPower's upcoming Sekelduin power plant in Swakopmund. Ohorongo Cement used 730t of its CEMIR cement, which contains 30% fly ash, combined with an additional 30% fly ash in the concrete mixer. The producer said that the extra ash increases the finished product's density, reducing permeability.

Ohorongo Cement said that the project is 'near completion,' having begun in mid-2021.

Belgium: The EU Innovation Fund has awarded Euro4.5m to a consortium consisting of Prefer, gas provider Fluxys Belgium, lime producer Lhoist and carbonation technology developer Orbix. The collaborators are working on a project called CO2ncrEAT. The project will carbonate steel sector by-products with captured CO₂ from Lhoist's Hermalle lime plant to produce alternative building materials. CO2ncrEAT will be the first project to employ Orbix's innovative technique for the purpose. Fluxys Belgium's pipeline technology will convey the Hermalle plant's emissions over a distance of 2km to a Prefer concrete blocks plant.

The consortium said that it will use 12,000t/yr of CO₂ to produce 100,000t/yr of reduced-CO₂ concrete blocks. The use of alternative raw materials in the blocks will further reduce their carbon footprint by 8000t/yr.

Prefer managing director Raphaël Grimont said “As market leader, we must ensure the sustainability of our business by offering innovative and eco-friendly products to our customers. With the CO2ncrEAT project, our building materials will be produced through a sustainable and efficient process and based on local, circular raw materials. The Prefer masonry block of tomorrow will retain all the advantages of the traditional block, with the difference that it will benefit from a negative carbon footprint. We are proud to develop this exceptional project together with key industrial partners, while benefitting from the trust of the European, Belgian and Walloon authorities.”

Canada: Lafarge Canada has signed an agreement with power provider TransAlta to recover and process fly ash from the site of the latter's decommissioned Edmonton coal-fired power plant. The project will use Ash-TEK's Ponded Ash Beneficiation System (PABS) fly ash beneficiation technology. The processed ash will then be able to replace up to 25% of cement in low-CO₂ concrete production.

TransAlta previously secured with Lafarge Canada for the supply of renewable power to its Exshaw, Alberta, cement plant in February 2022.

Australia: First Graphene has partnered with Suvo Strategic Minerals to develop graphene-enhanced metakaolin for use in cement and concrete production. Metakaolin is a pozzolanic material derived from kaolinite clay. The partners believe that the technology has commercial potential to improve concrete performance and reduce CO₂ emissions.