A startup sequesters carbon into clean concrete
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A startup takes CO2 gas from cement production and other industries and mineralises it into concrete
Spotted: Though the UK concrete industry – and, indeed, the industry worldwide – has made strides in making the most widely manufactured material on the planet more sustainable, the Mineral Products Association (MPA) still wants to go further. The organisation’s roadmap highlights the need for concrete to go “beyond net zero and become net negative, removing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it emits each year”. Towards this goal, startup Concrete4Change (C4C) has developed sequestration technology that turns carbon into concrete.
C4C has engineered additive materials for concrete that act as carbon carriers. First, in a circular approach, the company takes materials such as recycled wood and plastic waste, which are prepared to become an ‘adsorbent’ that may capture and release CO2. Then, using a process unit, the carrier is loaded with carbon dioxide – mainly utilising CO2 captured from the carbon heavy flue gas from cement production as feedstock.
Finally, this now loaded carrier is mixed into either wet or dry concrete wherein it slowly releases the CO2, allowing for permanent mineralisation. Not only does this mineralisation make the concrete stronger, less cement is required to do the same job.
The technology is extremely easy to implement across the supply chain, as it can be added to the mix alongside the other typical concrete components in a cost-efficient manner. Notably, C4C also promises 10 times more carbon sequestration than existing approaches for ready-mix concrete.
Earlier this year, C4C received grant funding from the Department of Energy & Net Zero (DESNZ) under the CCUS Innovation 2.0 programme, which it’s using the scale up and de-risk the technology.
There are many innovations hoping to decarbonise the emissions-heavy concrete sector, including an artificial intelligence (AI) platform and an electric concrete mixer.
Written By: Matilda Cox