India: The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has ordered the closure of 19 ready-mix concrete plants in Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Maharashtra, for violations of pollution guidelines. The Hindustan Times newspaper has reported that the MPCB previously issued revised guidelines for ready-mix concrete plants in Maharashtra in October 2024. It operates 14 air quality monitoring stations in Mumbai and 18 in surrounding areas.

Mumbai's Air Quality Index is currently stable at 128 – Moderate. Values are highest at MPCB’s Kherwadi-Bandra East station, at 196, with fine particulate matter concentrations of 309.

US: A team at Michigan State University has commenced a pilot study of four concrete slabs formulated to melt ice and snow, installed in a pedestrian area at its Lansing campus in Michigan. The slabs store heat from solar radiation and release it when temperatures drop to 0°C. Sub-hairline cracks in the concrete proved self-healing in earlier testing. Local press has reported that the team will monitor the slabs through Winter 2024 – 2025, as they are exposed to weather and footfall.

Researcher Quingxu Jin said "This concrete could revolutionise infrastructure for urban communities by reducing maintenance costs and for rural communities that need safer, sustainable solutions."

India: Autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) blocks producer Bigbloc Construction recorded sales of US$13.9m in the first half of 2025, up by 20% year-on-year. Its sales volumes of AAC blocks grew by 35%, the Business Standard newspaper has reported. Capacity utilisation was 57%. During the period, the producer launched a 0.7MW rooftop solar plant at Starbigbloc Building Material’s block plant in Gujarat’s Kheda District.

Finland: Lipa-Betoni will integrate Carbonaide's CO₂-storing concrete curing system at its precast concrete plant in South Savo, Carbon Herald News has reported. Carbonaide's system accelerates curing times while reducing cement use by up to 20%, reducing the CO₂ emissions of concrete production by 60% in Phase 1 alone. Precast concrete plant supplier Elematic has developed a dedicated system to seal CO₂ in the plant’s curing chambers. Pilot operations are scheduled to commence in early 2026, expanding up to full scale later in the year.

Carbonaide CEO Tapio Vehmas said "This first full plant integration also represents a major step in our collaboration with Elematic, started in 2025, which allows us to bring our solution rapidly to Europe's construction markets."