Displaying items by tag: circular economy

Canada: CarbiCrete has obtained the first Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for its cement-free concrete masonry units (CMUs). The products have specific CO₂ emissions of 11.7kg/m³ for the CMUs, 94% below the industry norm of 200kg/m³. FinancialWire News has reported that CarbiCrete’s recipe for the CMUs replaces cement with steel by-products, while also sequestering CO₂.

Concrete products company Canal Block is set to commence production of CarbiCrete CMUs at its Port Colborne plant in Ontario in early 2025.

Saudi Arabia: Saudi Readymix and Finland-based Betolar have launched two new reduced-CO₂ concretes, produced using ground granulated blast furnace slag and natural pozzolans with Betolar’s Geoprime technology. One of the products is cement-free and the other has an ultra-low (2.5%) cement content. TradeArabia News has reported that the dual launch concludes a successful partnership between the companies, which began in 2023.

Saudi Readymix technology and strategy director Chris Leptokaridis said "Saudi Readymix has been at the forefront of developing new technologies to meet our customers' increasing demand for eco-friendly, low-CO₂ solutions. Our partnership with Betolar has enabled us to successfully deliver on this goal, offering groundbreaking concrete recipes that significantly reduce carbon emissions."

Betolar senior researcher Ahmad Alzaza said "This project pushed the boundaries of innovation by bringing low-carbon technology into the ready-mix concrete space. We are proud to have contributed to a solution that will help advance sustainable construction across Saudi Arabia."

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.

Greece: Titan Cement Group subsidiary Interbeton has launched Velter, a circular, 30% reduced-CO₂ ready-mix concrete. The product comes with a Type III environmental product declaration from Eurocert.

Director of concrete operations Christoforos Voulgaris said "This new product line gives engineers, architects, builders and investors the opportunity to differentiate their projects with improved durability and a meaningful contribution to mitigating the effects of climate change.”

US: A study by Resource Recycling Systems found that 33% of construction and demolition materials (CDM) entering landfill in Summit County, Colorado, could be effectively diverted into CDM recycling. Concrete and aggregates were among the 11 materials included in the study. Local press has reported that county authorities aim to reuse or recycle 25% of CDM generated locally by 2028, and 50% by 2035. Landfill capacity will run out in 2078.

CDM constituted 30% of Summit County’s landfill intake during the study period.

Sweden/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."

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.

France: 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."

US: The City of Syracuse, New York, is pilot-testing a new method of infrastructure construction by incorporating recycled glass as a cement substitute in concrete, reports CNY Central newspaper. A patented process by recycling company KLAW Industries crushes glass into fine powder, reportedly replacing 20% of the cement in concrete from recent projects, including upgrades to pavements. The approach follows successful implementations in the City of Binghamton and by the New York State Department of Transportation, with support from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and Clarkson University.

Department of Public Works Commissioner Jeremy Robinson said "We’re always looking for the most effective and sustainable approaches to constructing and maintaining city infrastructure. Based on the results of this testing, we can determine if the solution can be expanded to more sidewalks and, possibly, other applications.”

US: 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.