Displaying items by tag: graphene

It’s been a good week for graphene usage in the cement and concrete industries, with a trial set to take place at Breedon Group’s Hope cement plant and the inclusion of four graphene projects in the Global Cement & Concrete Association’s (GCCA) shortlist for its second second Innovandi Open Challenge.

The trial at the Hope cement plant was scheduled to take place on 28 June 2023, alongside First Graphene, Morgan Sindall Construction and the University of Manchester. The plan was to use 1.2t of First Graphene’s PureGraph product by testing different dispersion methods and dosage rates. The graphene was going to be prepared as a grinding aid and then added to cement grinding mill feed. Dispersion into the cement production line was planned to occur over a 24-hour period using traditional grinding aid dosage lines, with minimal operational or mechanical change required to the existing plant.

The cement produced was then going to be validated by Breedon’s quality control team to assess its performance enhancement. Overall the trial was going to produce around 2000t of graphene-enhanced cement during the trial. This cement will then be passed to Morgan Sindall Construction for real-world construction demonstrations. First Graphene reckoned that the trial was going to produce the largest volume of graphene-enhanced cement manufactured to date.

First Graphene and the other partners haven’t released any information yet on how the trial went. However, the results will be used to build on data obtained from smaller scale trials previously conducted at a concrete processing laboratory in the UK.

Elsewhere, the 15 projects shortlisted by the GCCA, as part of the Innovandi Open Challenge, were set to pitch their ideas for access to the scheme. The benefits of inclusion on the scheme include access to industry plants, laboratories, networks and the expertise and infrastructure of the manufacturer members of the association. 70 applications were made for the second Innovandi round. The first round in 2021 was focused on carbon capture and utilisation and two projects eventually made it to the pilot stage. This time the emphasis is on low-carbon concrete.

The graphene-related contenders for Innovandi in the current round include Nano Crete, Nanospan India, SeaMix and Versarien Graphene. All four companies are promoting concrete admixtures that use graphene. Given the brief for this Innovandi round, these projects are focused on concrete production as opposed to the trial at the Hope cement plant, mentioned above, which is testing graphene addition during cement grinding.

Nanospan India, for example, is promoting its Spanocrete product. It says that its admixture acts as a superplasticizer and accelerator, allowing for reduced cement and water consumption, a shorter curing cycle and an increase in compressive strength. US-based SeaMix (part of MEP Group), meanwhile, has developed its own concrete admixture that uses chopped basalt fibres and graphene. It too offers greater compressive strength and reduced cement consumption for the resulting concrete. However, it also allows for the use of any non-potable water source, a compelling selling point for construction companies trying to minimise the use of drinking water.

It is early days yet for the application of graphene in the cement and concrete sectors. Graphene was first produced at the University of Manchester in 2004. Just under 20 years later and various products are emerging with test projects slowly gathering pace and even commercial applications, such as SeaMix and others, building up their portfolios. Various challenges such as reduced workability, the high cost of graphene or even concerns about simply handling graphene get raised in discussions about the wider adoption of graphene-based admixtures but so far these do not seem insurmountable. We await the outcomes of the trial at Hope and the selections of the second round of Innovandi.

For more on Seamix read the interview with Rey Rubio, the Vice President of MEP Consulting Engineers, in the July - August 2023 issue of Global Cement Magazine

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.”

UK: Breedon Cement commenced a 24-hour trial of graphene-enhanced cement production at its Hope Cement plant in Derbyshire on 28 June 2023. The trial advances the work of a consortium led by Australia-based First Graphene. It is using existing grinding aid dosage lines, with minimal adjustment required. Breedon Cement and its partners aim to produce 2000t of graphene-enhanced cement, using 1.2t of PureGRAPH 50. Graphene-Info News has reported that Breedon Cement will supply concrete produced under the trial to Morgan Sindall Construction for use in its building projects. The University of Manchester is also participating in the consortium.

Breedon Cement managing director Jude Lagan said “The role graphene can play in helping to decarbonise the cement industry could be significant, and we are keen to contribute to this process by facilitating what is set to be one of the largest global trials of this kind.”

UK: A consortium led by Australia-based First Graphene including Breedon Cement, Morgan Sindall Construction and the University of Manchester plans to start a trial producing graphene-enhanced cement in June 2023. The project will aim to produce around 2000t of the cement in the first instance. Its performance as a binder in mortar and concrete systems will be analysed to assess the performance improvement, prior to use in real-world demonstrations by Morgan Sindall Construction. Data from Breedon and First Graphene production sites has already been analysed by the University of Manchester and found graphene enhanced cement to both offset CO₂ and demonstrate potential mechanical benefits, even at graphene loading levels less than 0.06%.The project is supported by a Euro215m grant from the Innovate UK scheme.

Michael Bell, the managing director and chief executive officer of First Graphene, said “Our research and development in collaboration with some of the world’s most innovative materials technology organisations, coupled with buy-in from industry partners to trial our graphene products, sets the foundation for a strong commercialisation pathway.” He added, “Greening of the concrete and cement sector provides our company with a great opportunity to strengthen both our revenue and ultimately profitability as market demand for decarbonisation technologies and materials increases.”

Sri Lanka: Bogala Graphite has launched its new cement-strengthening graphene oxide additive. Daily FT News has reported that potential investors will be able to discuss the new technology with Bogala Graphite at the forthcoming Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0 exhibition later in February 2023.

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.

UK: Breedon Group, together with Australia-based First Graphene, Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure and the University of Manchester, is developing a new reduced-CO₂ graphene-enhanced cement. The consortium is currently formulating the cement using varying doses of First Graphene’s PureGRAPH graphene-enhanced grinding aid. The project received a research grant from the UK government earlier in 2022. First Graphene says that the study involves one of the largest commercial trials of its kind to date globally. It is simultaneously collaborating on another similar trial with a Europe-based speciality chemicals producer.

On 29 September 2022, First Graphene launched its latest range of graphene-enhanced cement grinding aids and concrete additives. These join recent launches PureGRAPH AM, an admixture developed in collaboration with South Africa-based Nanoproof/Glade Chemicals, and HexMortar, a dry mortar mix which will be distributed by New Zealand-based GtM Action.

First Graphene says that its cement and concrete segment’s order pipeline totals US$113m in value. Managing director and chief executive officer Michael Bell said “It is pleasing to see our efforts, and those of our collaboration partners, coming to fruition at a commercial scale. One of the primary drivers for the adoption of graphene solutions in this segment is the reduction of CO₂ emissions. We’re seeing considerable benefits both in the immediate reductions that can be achieved through the use of graphene-enhanced grinding aids, as well as the potential reductions in concrete usage because of the enhanced physical properties these products provide.” Bell concluded “Working with industry-focused partners such as Nanoproof/Glade Chemicals, GtM Action, Breedon Cement and Fosroc opens the way to an estimated addressable market of more than 12,000t of PureGRAPH across the medium to long term.”

UK: A consortium led by Australia-based First Graphene dedicated to developing graphene-enhanced cement has won Euro228,000 in UK government funding. Innovation agency Innovation UK selected the consortium for its work’s potential to contribute towards cement and concrete’s carbon footprint reduction of 25% by 2030. UK-based Breedon Cement represents the cement industry within the consortium.

Australia: First Graphene has started a five year collaboration research and development agreement with construction chemicals manufacturer Fosroc International to develop its PureGraph graphene-based cement additive product range. First Graphene will provide access to its formulation and dispersion process technologies and Fosroc will take responsibility for additive raw material supplies and formulations, mixing and dispersion and extensive laboratory trials. The objective of the deal is to jointly develop a range of PureGraph-enhanced cement additives that Fosroc will add to its portfolio of specialty products.

Michael Bell, the managing director and chief executive officer of First Graphene, said, “The agreement with Fosroc is a significant further step for First Graphene as we implement our go-to-market plan to become the world’s leading supplier of graphene-enhanced cement and concrete solutions. Fosroc has significant penetration into multiple global markets that will be highly beneficial in helping expand our reach and educating the market on the significant benefits, including emission reductions, that graphene-enhanced products provide.”

First Graphene says that the clinker factor of cement can be reduced by up to 20% through the use of its PureGraph additive products during the final grinding phase of cement production.

Cement and concrete products with sustainability credentials have increased in recent years as societies start to demand decarbonisation. In spite of the recent drop in the European Union (EU) Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) price, there has been a trend in recent years in the construction industry towards offerings with better environmental credentials. Indeed, this week’s position paper from Cembureau on a carbon border mechanism concerns directly the growth of these kinds of products within Europe. Typically, the higher profile projects have been slag cement or concrete implementations such as Hanson’s use of its Regen cement substitute in a London sewer project or David Ball Group’s Cemfree concrete in a road project also in the UK. In this short review we’ll take a selective look at a few of the so-called low carbon cement and concrete products currently available.

Table 1: Some examples of methods to reduce embodied CO₂ in cement and concrete. Note - the product examples are selective. In some cases many other products are available.

Looking at cement first, the easiest way for many producers to bring a lower carbon product to market has been to promote cements made using secondary cementitious materials (SCM) such as granulated blast furnace slag or fly ash. These types of cements have a long history, typically in specialist applications and/or in relation to ease of supply. For example, cement producers in eastern India often manufacture slag cements owing to the number of local steel plants. However, cement producers have more recently started to publicise their environmental credentials as they reduce the clinker factor of the final product. Alongside this though, in Europe especially, a number of so-called low carbon cement producers have appeared on the scene such as EcoCem and Hoffman Green Technologies. These newer producers tend to offer SCM cement products or other low carbon ones built around a grinding model. It is likely that their businesses have benefitted from tightening EU environmental legislation. How far cement producers can pivot to SCM cement products is contentious given that slag and fly ash are finite byproducts of other industries that are also under pressure to decarbonise. Although it should be noted that other SCMs such as pozzolans exist.

As will be seen below a few of the methods to reduce embodied CO₂ in cement and concrete can be used in both materials. SCMs are no exception and hold a long history in concrete usage. As mentioned above David Ball Group sells Cemfree a concrete product that contains no cement. Harsco Environmental, a minerals management company, invested US$3m into Carbicrete, a technology start-up working on a cement-free concrete, in late 2019.

Limestone calcined clay cements are the next set of products that are starting to make an appearance through the work of the Swiss-government backed LC3 project, more commercial offerings like FutureCem from Cementir and H-EVA from Hoffman Green Technologies and today’s announcement about ThyssenKrupp’s plans to fit the Kribi cement plant in Cameroon with its Polysius activated clay system. They too, like SCM cements, reduce the clinker factor of the cement. The downside is that, as in the name, the clay element needs to be calcined requiring capital investment, although LC3 make a strong case in their literature about how fast these costs can be recouped in a variety of scenarios.

Calcium silicate cements offer reduced process emissions by decreasing the lime content of the clinker lowering the amount of CO₂ released and bringing down the temperature required in the kiln to make the clinker. Solidia offers its calcium silicate cement as part of a two-part system with a CO₂ cured concrete. In the US LafargeHolcim used Solidia’s product in a commercial project in mid-2019 at a New Jersey paver and block plant. Solidia’s second core technology is using CO₂ to cure concrete and reducing water usage. They are not alone here as Canada’s CarbonCure Technologies uses CO₂ in a similar way with their technology. In their case they focus more on CO₂ mineralisation. In Germany, Schwenk Zement backed the Celitement project, which developed a hydraulic calcium hydro silicate based product that does not use CO₂ curing. Celitement has since become part of Schwenk Zement.

Solidia isn’t the only company looking at two complementary technologies along the cement-concrete production chain. A number of companies are looking at recycling concrete and demolition waste. Generally this splits into coarse waste that is used as an aggregate substitute in concrete and fine waste that is used to make cement. LafargeHolcim has Evopact for the coarse waste and Susteno for the fine. HeidelbergCement has EcoCrete for the coarse and is researching the use of fines. Closing the loop for heavy building material producers definitely seems like the way to go at the moment and this view is reinforced by the involvement of the two largest multinational producers.

Of the rest of the other low carbon cement methods detailed in table 1 these cover other non-Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) such as geopolymer and calcium sulphoaluminate cements. The former are a type of alkali activated binder and generally lack common standards. The latter are similar to slag cements in that they are established specialist products with lower CO₂ emissions than OPC.

With concrete when trying to make a low carbon product the first choice is whether to choose a low-carbon cement as the binder or even not to use cement at all in the case of Regen or Cemfree. From here the next step is to simply use less cement in a concrete mixture. There are a number of ways to do this from optimising aggregate gradation, following performance specifications more closely, using strength tests like maturity methods and generally adhering to quality control protocols better to deliver more consistency. Read the Mineral Production Association (MPA) publication Specifying Sustainable Concrete for more detail on this. Using concrete admixtures can also help make concrete more sustainable by improving quality and performance at construction sites through the use of plasticisers and accelerators, by decreasing embodied carbon through the use of water reducers and by improving the whole life performance of concretes. The use of locally-sourced aggregates is also worth noting here since it can reduce associated transport CO₂ emissions.

More novel methods of reducing embodied CO₂ emissions in concrete include the use of geopolymer concrete in the case of Zeobond Group’s E-Crete or adding graphene as Concrene does. Like geopolymer cements, geopolymer concretes are relatively new and lack common standards. Products like Concrene, meanwhile, remain currently at the startup level. Finally, if all else fails, offsetting the CO₂ released by a cement or concrete product is always an option. This is what Cemex has done with its Vertua Ultra Zero product. The first 70% reduction in embodied CO₂ is gained through the use of geopolymer cement. Then the remaining 30% reduction is achieved through a carbon offsetting scheme via a carbon neutral certification verified by the Carbon Trust.

As can be seen, a variety of methods exist for cement and concrete producers to reduce the embodied CO₂ of their products and call them ‘low-carbon.’ For the moment most remain in the ‘novelty section’ but as legislators promote and specifiers look for sustainable construction they continue to become more mainstream. What has been interesting to note from this short study is that some companies are looking at multiple solutions along the production and supply chain whilst others are concentrating on single ones. The companies looking at multiple methods range from the biggest building material producers like LafargeHolcim and HeidelbergCement to smaller newer ones like Solidia and Hoffman Green Technologies. Also of note is that many of these products have existed already in various forms for a long time like SCM cements and concretes or the many ways concretes can be made more sustainable through much simpler ways such as changing aggregate sourcing or working more efficiently. In many cases once markets receive sufficient stimulus it seems likely that low carbon cement and concrete products will proliferate.

Global Cement is researching a market report on low carbon cement and concrete. If readers have any comments to make please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.