Displaying items by tag: supplementary cementitious materials

US: Terra CO₂ has received a US$52.6m federal grant from the US Department of Energy to support the construction of a new plant in Magna, Utah, that will produce up to 240,000t/yr of supplementary cementitious materials using mining waste from the nearby Kennecott copper mine. This method reportedly aims to cut CO₂ emissions by 70% per tonne of traditional cement replaced, according to the company’s CEO Bill Yearsley. The project is expected to create 61 jobs.

One unusual thing about coverage of cement in the media is the way that discussions often centre precisely on its absence – that is, on alternatives to cement. These alternatives boast unique chemistries and performance characteristics, but are all produced without Portland cement clinker. They are generally called ‘alternative cements,’ perhaps because ‘cement-free cement’ does not have such a commercially viable ring to it. This contradictory tendency reached a new high in the past week, with developments in alternative cement across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. Together, they hint at a more diverse future for the ‘cement’ industry than the one we know today.

Asia

In Indonesia, Suvo Strategic Minerals has concluded tests with Makassar State University of a novel nickel-slag-based cement. Huadi Nickel-Alloy Indonesia supplied raw materials, and tests showed a seven-day compressive strength of 37.5MPa. Suvo Strategic Minerals says that a partnership with Huadi Nickel-Alloy Indonesia for commercial production is a likely next step.

Europe

Cement producer Mannok and minerals company Boliden partnered with the South Eastern Applied Materials (SEAM) research centre in Ireland to launch a project to develop supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) from shale on 7 October 2024. The project will additionally investigate CO₂-curing of cement paste backfill for use in mines. Irish state-owned global commerce agency Enterprise Ireland has contributed €700,000 in funding.

UK-based SCM developer Karbonite expects to launch trial production of its olivine-based SCM with a concrete company in 2025. The start-up launched Karbonite Group Holding BV, with offices in the Netherlands, to facilitate this new phase. Karbonite’s SCM is activated at 750 – 850°C and sequesters CO₂ in the activation process, resulting in over 56% lower CO₂ emissions than ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Managing director Rajeev Sood told Global Cement that talks are already underway for subsequent expansions into the UAE and India.

Back in the UK, contractor John Sisk & Son has received €597,000 from national innovation agency Innovate UK. John Sisk & Son is testing fellow Ireland-based company Ecocem’s <25% clinker cement technology in concrete for use in its on-going construction of the Wembley Park mixed development in London.

At the same time, Innovate UK granted a further €3.23m to other companies for concrete decarbonisation. Recipients included a calcined clay being developed by Cemcor, an SCM being developed from electric arc furnace byproducts by Cocoon, a geopolymer cement technology being developed by EFC Green Concrete Technology UK and an initiative to develop alternative cement from recycled concrete fines at the Materials Processing Institute in Middlesbrough. Also included was the Skanska Costain Strabag joint venture, which is working on the London stretch of the upcoming HS2 railway. The joint venture, along with partners including cement producer Tarmac and construction chemicals company Sika UK, will test low-kaolinite London clay as a raw material with which to produce calcined clay as a cement substitute in concrete structures in HS2’s rail tunnels.

Middle East

Talks are underway between UK-based calcined clay producer Next Generation SCM and City Cement subsidiary Nizak Mining Company over the possible launch of a joint venture in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The joint venture would build a 350,000t/yr reduced-CO₂ concrete plant, which would use alternative cement based on Next Generation SCM’s calcined clay.

North America

Texas-based SCM developer Solidia Technologies recently patented its carbonatable calcium silicate-based alternative cement, which sequesters CO₂ as it cures.

Meanwhile, C-Crete Technologies made its first commercial pour of its granite-based cement-free concrete in New York, US. C-Crete Technologies says that the product offers cost and performance parity with conventional cement, with net zero CO₂ emissions. Its raw material is globally more abundant than the limestone used as a raw material for clinker. Other abundantly available feedstocks successfully deployed within C-Crete Technologies’ repertoire include basalt and zeolite.

Across New York State, in Binghamton, KLAW Industries has succeeded in replacing 20% of concrete’s cement content with its powdered glass-based SCM, Pantheon. KLAW Industries has delivered samples to local municipalities and the New York State Department of Transportation. Its success expands the discussion of possible circular cement ingredients from the industrial sphere into post-consumer resources.

In Calgary, Canada, a novel SCM has drawn attention from one of the major cement incumbents: Germany-based Heidelberg Materials. It invested in local construction and demolition materials (CDM)-based SCM developer EnviCore on 9 October 2024. The companies plan to build a pilot plant at an existing Heidelberg Materials CDM recycling centre.

Conclusion

Alternative cement developers are still finding the words to talk about their products. They may be more than ‘supplementary’ up to the point of entirely supplanting 100% of clinker. Product webpages offer ‘hydraulic binder,’ ‘pozzolan’ and even ‘cement.’ As alternative ‘cements’ are developed, they build on the work of pioneers like Joseph Aspdin and Louis Vicat. Start-ups and their backers are now reaching commercial offerings, on a similar-but-different footing to cement itself. None of these novel materials positions itself as the sole, last-minute ‘super sub’ in the construction sector’s confrontation with climate change. Rather, they are a package of solutions which can combine into a net zero-emissions heavy building materials offering, hopefully before 2050.

Related to this is the need for ‘technology neutral’ standards, as championed this week by the Alliance for Low-Carbon Cement and Concrete (ALCCC), along with 23 other European industry associations, civil society organisations and think tanks. The term may sound new, but the concept is critical to the eventual uptake of alternative cements: standards, the ALCCC says, should be purely performance-based. They ought not attempt to define what technology, for example cement clinker, makes a suitable building material. According to the ALCCC, Europe’s building materials standards are not technology neutral, but instead ‘gatekeep’ market access, to the benefit of conventional cement and the exclusion of ‘proven and scalable low-carbon products.’

At the same time, cement itself is changing. Market research from USD Analytics showed an anticipated 5% composite annual growth rate in blended cement sales between 2024 and 2032, more than doubling throughout the period from US$253bn to US$369bn. If you can’t beat it, blend with it!

For a further discussion of alternative cement and binders in Europe, see Global Cement’s interview with ALCCC co-ordinator Joren Verschaeve in the forthcoming November issue of Global Cement Magazine on 17 October 2024.

Canada: Sustainable materials startup EnviCore has raised US$3m in its seed funding round led by CSN Inova Ventures (the corporate venture capital arm of Brazil’s Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional), Heidelberg Materials and others. The funding will scale up Envicore’s production of low-carbon supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), like mining tailings, slag, shale and glass. The company’s technology reportedly reduces the carbon footprint of cement production by up to 30%, using recycled mineral feedstock, with the SCMs replacing up to 35% of Portland cement in concrete. Proceeds will expand EnviCore's production capacity and support new business development, operations and research and development efforts. Heidelberg Materials, together with EnviCore, will conduct a feasibility study for a pilot SCM production facility close to one of Heidelberg Materials’ recycling hubs.

CEO and co-founder Shahrukh Shamim said "This investment marks a pivotal moment in our journey to commercialise a game-changing technology in the cement industry. The support from CSN, Heidelberg Materials and other investors will allow us to scale up quickly and meet the growing demand for greener building solutions."

US: C-Crete Technologies has poured its granite-based cement-free concrete in its first construction application at the upcoming JPMorgan Chase headquarters at 270 Park Avenue, Manhattan. Ecology, Environment and Conservation News has reported that the concrete generates no net CO₂ emissions by sequestering atmospheric CO₂ in its curing process. The concrete conforms to ASTM International standards, with a compressive strength exceeding 5000psi. Other partners on the project included engineering firm Severud Associates Consulting Engineers and construction management firm AECOM Tishman.

C-Crete Technologies president Rouzbeh Savary said "We are thrilled to introduce our new granite-based concrete at such a prestigious and iconic location. The building at 270 Park Avenue is set to become a landmark not only for its architectural grandeur, but also for its sustainable construction practices."

Severud Associates Consulting Engineers senior associate Fortunato Orlando said "The performance of C-Crete for concrete on metal deck, topping slabs, pavements and landscape work, coupled with its eco-friendly attributes, makes it a revolutionary product for the future of the construction industry."

AECOM Tishman chief operating officer John Kovacs said "Just a few years ago, constructing devoid of Portland cement and CO₂ emissions would have seemed unimaginable. And yet today, we stand as the world's first, setting new thresholds of what's possible in sustainable construction. We thank all of our partners on this project and look forward to the day when CO₂ emission-free construction is not simply an idea or a new innovation, but the industry standard across every build."

Canada: Heidelberg Materials has invested in EnviCore, a Canada-based startup that is developing low-carbon solutions. Together, the companies will focus on increasing the use of recycled construction and demolition materials as supplementary cementitious materials (SCM). This collaboration includes planning a pilot SCM production facility near one of Heidelberg Materials' recycling hubs, pending an upcoming feasibility study. Heidelberg Materials has also acquired a minority stake in EnviCore.

Katharina Beumelbur, chief sustainability and new technologies officer and member of the managing board of Heidelberg Materials, said “EnviCore’s novel approach has the potential to unlock new possibilities of increasing the amount of recycled materials we use in our products. This could pave the way to further reduce our need for virgin materials, contributing towards preserving valuable natural resources and protecting our environment.”

Ireland: Mannok, Sweden-based minerals company Boliden and the South Eastern Applied Materials (SEAM) research centre at South East Technological University in Carlow, Wexford and Wicklow in Ireland have launched a 30-month project to reduce the embodied CO₂ emissions of cement. The project will investigate possible uses of shale as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in cement production and the CO₂ curing of cement paste-based mine backfill. Enterprise Ireland has supplied funding worth €700,000 for the collaboration.

Mannok operations director Kevin Lunney said "We are delighted to be working with SEAM and Boliden on this critical research for the cement sector, which could have many far-reaching benefits for the construction sector more generally. Finding local, viable, low-carbon solutions for the industry can make a major contribution to lowering emissions in Ireland."

Boliden specialist development engineer Adam McElroy and section-mill process head Colum Burns said "This project will greatly enhance our knowledge and understanding of the potential for developing low carbon cement for mine backfill purposes and for utilising backfill systems as a carbon sink. The project will also investigate synergies between the cement manufacturing and mining industries that could enhance the sustainability of both industries."

Latvia: Stiga RM is investing more than €32m in a new wood-wool cement board plant in Tukums, expected to complete construction by late 2024 and be operational by the end of 2025. Covering 15,000m², the plant will create almost 100 new jobs and focus on high-quality wood products, primarily for export markets in Europe, Scandinavia and North America. The plant has a capacity of 4.5Mm²/yr of acoustic wood-wool cement boards. The company has an agreement with SCM Group for the supply and installation of the production equipment at the plant.

Manager Sandis Fogelmanis said "We are pleased that the construction of the new plant is progressing according to plan and, at some stages, is even ahead of the original schedule."

Australia: Zeolite, kaolin and metakaolin producer Zeotech has appointed James Marsh as its new CEO, effective from 9 September 2024. Current CEO Scott Burkhart will then transition to chief operating officer. The appointment is intended to support Zeotech’s entry into large-scale production of high reactivity metakaolin for use in cement and concrete.

Marsh is a director of Australian Kaolin. He previously worked as executive director sales and marketing at Andromeda Metals, after holding managerial roles at multiple minerals companies. He has a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Physics from the University of the West of England, UK.

Managing Director Peter Zardo said "James' technical experience in the industrial mineral and cement industries, especially metakaolin, will be pivotal in accelerating Zeotech's goal of becoming a significant supplier of premium supplementary cementitious materials. Queensland-based leadership is critical to achieving the Company's objectives as we ramp up work programmes and industry engagement, and James will play an essential hands-on role in executing Zeotech's strategy."

James Marsh said "I'm excited to join Zeotech at a crucial stage of the company's strategy, where I can utilise my experience and connections to make it a significant player in decarbonising the construction industry."

UK: UK-based startup Cocoon has raised €4.9m in pre-seed funding to develop technology that repurposes byproducts from electrified steel furnaces into a ‘near-identical replacement’ for blast furnace slag, according to the company. The modular technology integrates into existing steel-making processes without disrupting operations or requiring high capital expenditure, reports UK Tech News. Cocoon targets a 50% replacement of cement in concrete, aiming to reduce emissions for producers. Initial tests are underway at a steel plant in northern England, followed by another in the US.

Cocoon CEO Eliot Brooks said "We’re turning a byproduct with little use into a valuable product that the market badly needs and can be easily integrated into existing supply chains. By repairing a broken link in the circular economy, Cocoon provides steel makers with a new revenue stream while meeting the low-carbon material needs of the concrete industry. For every 1t of Cocoon’s slag-based cementitious material used, 1t of CO₂ can be avoided."

Brooks hopes Cocoon's climate technology will be integrated into a pilot plant by late 2025.

US: Queens Carbon has secured a US$14.5m grant from the US Department of Energy under its SCALEUP program. The funding will support the pilot of Queens Carbon's low temperature, ‘zero CO₂’ emission technology at an existing cement production site. Queens Carbon's supplementary cementitious materials, which replace 20-50% of the high-CO₂ binder in cement, will be produced at a pilot plant with a capacity of 10t/day.

CEO Daniel Kopp said “This SCALEUP grant is a tremendous step forward on our path to commercialisation. Partnering with the Department of Energy and a major cement industry player to deploy, operate, and optimise our 10t/day pilot plant will put us on an accelerated path to gigatonne-scale CO₂ reductions.”