Displaying items by tag: supplementary cementitious materials
Imperial College London team secures government funding for carbon negative cement development
20 July 2023UK: A team at Imperial College London has won a US$1.27m grant for its research into developing carbon negative cement from silica. The research won the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)’s Carbon Capture, Usage & Storage (CCUS) Innovation 2.0 competition. The Imperial team sources its silica from natural olivine. It says that the compound behaves in the same way as other supplementary cementitious materials. Meanwhile, magnesia from the decomposition of the olivine can serve as a carbon sink in the form of magnesium carbonate. It, in turn, could serve as a raw material for concrete block production.
The DESNZ’s Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, of which the CCUS Innovation 2.0 competition is a part, has a budget of US$1.29bn.
Germany: Dyckerhoff has launched Dyckerhoff Weiss Blue Star, a pozzolanic white cement CEM IV/A (P) 42.5 R product. It was approved by the German cement association, the VDZ, in mid-June 2023 and is now being manufactured at the Amöneburg plant. The lower CO2 credentials of the new product have been promoted as it releases around 15% less CO2 compared to CEM I cements. It is also notable for being a blended white cement.
US: Brimstone has announced a new method of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) with a negative carbon footprint. Brimstone's method uses carbon-free calcium silicate in the place of limestone. Its calcination also produces magnesium compounds, which naturally sequester further CO2 from the atmosphere. The technology will now proceed to the testing phase at an upcoming pilot plant in Reno, Nevada, before proceeding to commercial-scale production. Brimstone will then begin to market its OPC, along with supplementary cementitious materials produced by its process.
Brimstone's chief technology officer Hugo Leandri said “By delivering the exact same cement, we clear away the main obstacles to adoption, offering an opportunity to dramatically speed up the path to net-zero construction. The same buildings, bridges and roads being built today can be built tomorrow, without carbon."
Fortera continues construction of low-carbon cementitious material plant at CalPortland's Redding cement plant
10 July 2023US: In 2022, Fortera began building a 15,000t/yr-capacity plant to produce its low-carbon cementitious material, Fortera Reactive Calcium Carbonate (RCC), at CalPortland's Redding cement plant in California. The commercial-scale plant will produce a reactive form of calcium carbonate using CO2 from the kiln of the 600,000t/yr cement plant. Fortera's process converts 1t of limestone into 1t of Fortera RCC by capturing and mineralising CO2 from the cement plant's kiln. Fortera cement production emits 60% less CO2 than ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The 15,000t/yr plant will operate at 20 times the scale of previous pilot tests. The Redding Record newspaper has reported that 15 workers will be employed at the site.
Former Redding cement plant owner Lehigh Hanson formed an agreement with Fortera to collaborate on the low-carbon cement plant project in March 2021. The plant subsequently switched ownership to Martin Marietta Materials in October 2021, before CalPortland bought it in July 2022.
Japan: A team at the University of Tokyo has developed cement-free alternative concrete from ultra-fine sand and fly ash. NHK has reported that the process uses recyclable alcohols and has lower CO2 emissions compared to concrete production using ordinary Portland cement. Research with industrial partners into possible construction sector applications is underway. Partnerships with Japanese ready-mixed concrete producers are reportedly also under discussion.
Further information is available from Yuzo Tobisaka, an independent Japanese consultant in the cement and ready-mixed concrete industry, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Global Cement and Concrete Association announces Innovandi Open Challenge 2023 shortlist
30 June 2023World: 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:
Arrakis Materials |
US |
Carbon negative materials for concrete |
Chement |
US |
Room temperature cement production |
EcoAdmix Global |
UK |
Nanotechnology ('HDT') for concrete |
EcoLocked |
Germany |
Biocarbon-based admixtures |
EnviCore |
Canada |
Low temperature supplementary cementitious material production |
Enzymatic |
US |
Carbon negative enzymatic concrete corrosion inhibition and recycling |
Louis Structures |
US |
Municipal solid waste-based lightweight aggregates |
MEP - SeaMix |
US |
Basalt fibre and graphene-based admixture |
Nano Crete |
US |
Graphene-enhanced CO2 sequestration |
Nanospan India |
India |
Graphene-based admixture |
NeoCrete |
New Zealand |
Nano-activator for natural pozzolans |
Queens Carbon |
US |
~500°C cementitious materials production |
The Cool Corporation |
UK |
Carbon negative carbon nanotube-based additive for concrete |
Ultra High Materials |
US |
Clinkerless cement |
Versarien Graphene |
UK |
Graphene-based admixture ('Cementene') |
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.”
France: Ireland-based Ecocem has partnered with CB Green to launch a joint venture to scale up production of 70% reduced-CO2 cement based on Ecocem's ACT technology. The technology combines widely available alternative raw materials into a product with enhanced strength and durability compared with ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The new joint venture will build a grinding plant in Dunkirk, Nord Department. The plant will produce 600,000t/yr of limestone filler for use in alternative cement production with ACT technology. The partners expect to invest Euro60m in the plant's construction, with commissioning scheduled for mid-2025.
Ecocem managing director Donal O’Riain said “This long-term cooperation agreement with CB Green marks a major milestone in our work to scale ACT, our low carbon cement technology, and deliver on our commitment to help the cement industry cost-effectively decarbonise by 50% by 2030. It secures production of fillers and access to high quality limestone, and is an important next step to ensuring that our ACT technology can be distributed at scale and start delivering on its potential to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 70%. Technology is no longer the issue, scale and speed are what matters now."
Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies to build four clinker-free cement plants in Saudi Arabia
21 June 2023Saudi Arabia: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies (HGCT) and property developer Shurfah Holding have signed a letter of intent to conclude a licensing agreement for use of HGCT’s technology by the state-owned construction firm. BusinessWire News has reported that HGCT plans to build four new units to produce its clinker-free alternative cement in Saudi Arabia. Construction will begin in 2024. Shurfah Holding said that the partnership signals progress towards the development of smart cities under the state’s Vision 2030 economic plan.
HGCT co-founders Julien Blanchard and David Hoffmann thanked Shurfah Holding and said that the partnership represents an acceleration in the producer’s international development.
Europe/India: Finland-based Betolar has secured EU-wide and Indian patents for a new waste-based alternative concrete produced without cement and capable of storing energy. Betolar said that the material, which is already patented in Finland, is especially suited for use in renewable energy infrastructure, where it can provide a storage solution for dealing with short-term peaks. Chief commercial officer Ville Voipio said that the company will now seek to establish a partnership for commercialisation of its new alternative building material.
Betolar produces and markets the Geoprime additive used to produce cement-free concrete from supplementary cementitious materials, including ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), in regions that include India and the EU.
Italy: Italcementi, part of Heidelberg Materials, has filed a patent application for a titanium dioxide-based cementitious material. The Patent Office Journal has reported that the material consists of titanium dioxide (TiO2) imbued with carbon dopants. This is produced by irradiating the TiO2 in the presence of an inert gas and an organic compound.