Heidelberg Materials UK鈥檚 first trial use of CarbonCure in ready-mixed concrete is taking place at its Greenwich concrete plant in London.
The process involves injecting pure manufactured carbon dioxide into fresh concrete, where it undergoes a chemical reaction to become permanently mineralised. This makes hydration more efficient, it is claimed, delivering stronger concrete and locking in CO2.
It also allows producers to use an average of 5% less cement within the concrete mix, Heidelberg says, and can reduce the CO鈧� associated with concrete by between seven and 11 kg/m3.
鈥淭he CarbonCure trial is the first of its kind to trial the technology in ready-mix concrete in England and is another example of our commitment to innovation and decarbonising our business, to deliver lower carbon construction materials to our customers,鈥� said Daniel Clayton, concrete technical director at Heidelberg Materials UK.
鈥淲e鈥檙e continuing to invest in a range of innovative technologies to enable this, including partnering with CarbonCure in this trial where the mineralised CO鈧� within the concrete stays permanently locked in, even if the concrete is demolished at some point in the future.鈥�
The CarbonCure technology is easily integrated into the concrete production process and has no impact on the performance of the finished material, the company says.
The trial at Greenwich reinforces the Thameside plant鈥檚 credentials as a low carbon construction materials source as it also offers customers calcined clay, evoBuild low carbon GGBS, crushed concrete, accelerators and evoZero, which is billed as the world鈥檚 first carbon captured near-zero cement.
The CarbonCure process was first developed more than a decade ago in Canada and is gaining traction globally including in North America. Projects built with concrete using CarbonCure's technologies include Amazon HQ2 in Virginia and the General Motors manufacturing plant in Tennessee.