Displaying items by tag: sustainability
Recycl8 and Breedon Group complete first large-scale commercial pour of R8 Mix reduced-CO2 concrete
13 February 2024UK: Recycl8 has completed its first large-scale commercial project in partnership with Breedon Group. The partners supplied R8 Mix reduced-CO2 concrete for the installation of an industrial floor slab at Aurora Energy Services site in Inverness. R8 Mix concrete is produced using incinerator bottom ash and Breedon Group’s blended cement.
Recycl8 chief executive officer Mark Gillespie said "We are excited to be working with Aurora Energy Services. It is particularly gratifying for us to be carrying out our first large-scale commercial project with an organisation which is committed to supporting the energy sector transition to net zero, with a particular focus on the renewables sector. With our commitment to fostering a sustainable, circular-economy future for the construction industry by playing our part in lowering carbon emissions from concrete manufacture, we share the same values and synergies."
US: The Department of Transportation has announced a US$5m initiative to investigate the use of steel slag in cement and concrete. This will take the form of a collaboration between the Department of Transportation and a selected US-based steel producer and university partner. The initiative seeks to reduce CO2 emissions in the production of building materials. Prospective participants may view the grant opportunity here.
Transport secretary Pete Buttigieg said "We're proud to make this funding available to help develop the next generation of construction materials so that the future of our transport infrastructure is more resilient, more sustainable and made in America.”
Robert Hampshire, deputy assistant secretary for research and technology and chief science officer, said “This funding initiative will develop and advance innovative materials and technologies that support the nation’s goals to decarbonise the transportation sector by 2050, strengthen resilience of the nation’s transportation infrastructure, and address adverse environmental impacts created by the transportation system.”
Heidelberg Materials and Viuda de Sainz to launch recycled aggregates plant in Güeñes
09 February 2024Spain: Heidelberg Materials and construction firm Viuda de Sainz plan to open a construction and demolition waste (CDW) recycling and slag grinding plant in Güeñes, Basque Country. The plant, called Harri Green, will be situated in Heidelberg Materials' existing Zaramillo limestone quarry. It processing capacities will be 140,000t/yr CDW and 20,000t/yr steel slag, with which it will produce aggregates. The cost of the plant is Euro2m.
Tarmac launches CEVO reduced-CO2 concrete brand
05 February 2024UK: CRH-subsidiary Tarmac has launched the new CEVO umbrella brand for its reduced-CO2 concrete range. A colour-coded labelling system of strength and sustainability ratings also accompanies the new brand. The CEVO range will be the UK’s first to align entirely with the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)’s Low Carbon Concrete Routemap. Tarmac has also released a new carbon calculator, benchmarked against the Green Construction Board standard and calculated in accordance with PAS 2050 lifecycle assessment methodology. This includes a major update to the new BS8500 British concrete standard, which allows up to 20% limestone filler in concrete. The company has also developed an alkali-activated material (AACM) system in line with the new standard.
Tarmac’s head of readymix concrete performance Andrew Campling said "We've listened to our customers and made the process of accessing transparent data and procuring lower carbon concrete as simple as possible. Through the benchmarking, the options to deliver carbon savings are even easier to understand and measure - it is designed to be specification made simple."
Partanna to build four new carbon negative binder plants
30 January 2024Middle East/North America: Climate tech start-up Partanna has announced plans for four new plants to produce its carbon negative binder. The plants will be located in the Bahamas, the US and the Gulf region.
Partanna said that the development demonstrates its growing momentum as a construction sector disruptor, offering a sustainable, cost-comparable alternative to cement for users of concrete.
Sweden: Heidelberg Materials Northern Europe has announced its deployment of a 100% electric concrete mixer truck. The producer said that it bought the truck from Volvo.
Heidelberg Materials Northern Europe head of environmental, social and governance (ESG) & public affairs and vice president for Sweden Karin Comstedt Webb said “This partnership is a beacon for industry-wide decarbonisation, bringing us closer to our climate goals in Northern Europe. With a full-load capacity of ready-mixed concrete, our environmentally friendly truck not only heralds a new era in construction transport efficiency, but also confirms our leading position in the European building materials sector.”
TopWerk Group endorses Partanna Global's carbon-negative binder
23 January 2024Germany/US: Concrete production equipment supplier TopWerk Group has formally endorsed Partanna Global's carbon-negative binder as a replacement for cement in the production of concrete using its equipment. Partanna plans to install TopWerk equipment at its four upcoming production plants, under an exclusive three-year agreement. The endorsement is intended to help shift TopWerk's global customers from using cement to using Partanna Global’s binder.
Partanna Global CEO Rick Fox said “TopWerk's endorsement of Partanna represents a major vote of confidence in our technology from one of the most respected names in global construction. We’re humbled and proud that one of the world’s leading concrete machinery producers has given us their backing. We hope this signals to the industry that Portland cement is no longer the only solution in town, and that the days of burning rocks are fast coming to an end.”
TopWerk CEO Robert Gruss said "We believe our exclusive partner Partanna has come up with a truly impressive solution that can contribute to putting this polluting practice to an end. The company’s carbon negative binder is one of the most exciting innovations we have witnessed in our industry for decades. It is the most advanced alternative binder solution in the market and the only credibly carbon negative solution that has the potential to scale globally. Over the last two years, we have rigorously tested their formula and have validated its application as a direct replacement solution for Portland cement. In many ways, their binder actually performs better than the legacy solution.”
The endorsement follows Saudi Arabia-based property developer ROSHN's announcement of an upcoming carbon-negative concrete plant that will use Partanna Global's technology earlier in January 2024.
Neustark announces upcoming rapid expansion in Europe
19 January 2024Switzerland: Carbon capture and storage (CCS) equipment developer and supplier Neustark says it plans to more than double the number of its CO2 storage sites in Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland and the UK to 34 from 14. Neustark’s process turns mineralised captured CO2 and existing mineral waste streams into useful limestone. Building materials producers lease Neustark’s storage sites to produce reduced-CO2 alternatives such as recycled concrete. The sites currently have a total storage capacity of 5000t. Existing customers include Holcim.
Neustark CEO Johannes Tiefenthaler said “Neustark is scaling up rapidly, and we’re well on track to achieve our aim of permanently removing 1Mt of CO₂ by 2030. Our global goal is a series of reliable, region-specific CCS facilities that can be replicated anywhere, offering immediate sustainability benefits to local supply chains.”
Czech Republic: Cemex Czech Republic has successfully commissioned its Prague-Libuš ready-mix concrete batching plant in Prague, following an upgrade. The upgraded plant can now process five types of cements and admixtures, including Cemex’s Vertua reduced-CO2 concretes and recycled aggregates. Cemex Czech Republic has installed two recycled aggregates production plants at the site to process residual concrete.
Cemex’s vice president materials, Central Europe, Ruediger Kuhn said “Our plant in Libuš forms an important part of our operation in the Czech republic, thanks to its interesting location in the wider centre of the capital and in the immediate vicinity of the planned construction of the Prague Metro D line. We are therefore very pleased to have this site reopened following a considerable investment.” He added “The development at this site confirms Cemex’s determination to offer its customers superior quality products while also meeting its sustainability objectives, supporting the circular economy and reducing emissions wherever possible.”
UAE: Saint-Gobain Weber has installed a new system at its Abu Dhabi mortars plant to recover dust from its crusher and re-inject it into the plant’s raw materials stream. This is part of a package of upgrades to lower the Abu Dhabi plant’s consumption of virgin materials, which also reduced its generation of waste by 4380t/yr between 2019 and 2023. The L’Usine Nouvelle newspaper has reported that other investments included the electrification of the plant’s forklift fleet.
Saint-Gobain reduced its Scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions by 14%, its non-recycled waste by 78% and its water footprint by 10% in the Middle East between 2017 and 2023.