Deploying innovative solutions to cut emissions produced by the concrete sector
After water, concrete is the most widely used substance on the planet and is estimated to produce between 4-8% of the world's CO2 emissions, taking in all stages of production. Cement, the core material within concrete, emits just under one tonne of CO2 per one tonne manufactured, meaning if the concrete industry was a country it would be the third largest CO2 emitter in the world, surpassed only by China and the US. As countries continue to become more urbanised, innovative solutions are needed to mitigate the emissions produced by this hard-to-abate sector.
achieved through CO2 mineralization and lower carbon-intensive Portland Cement consumption
ensuring that economic development does not come at the cost of environmental ambitions
reduced each year, thanks to the project
The CarbonCure project develops and deploys cutting-edge, environmentally sound technology for the global concrete industry that permanently stores CO2 within concrete via an innovative mineralization process. Thanks to it's ‘ready-mix’ technology, the project significantly reduces the amount of cement needed to produce concrete, enabling facilities that have adopted this technology to achieve notable carbon emission savings during production and the lifetime of the product’s use. The The CO2 mineralization both improves the performance of the concrete and sequesters the carbon permanently, with no risk of reversal even if the concrete is demolished. The ready-mix system used in this project allows concrete producers to reduce emissions associated with concrete production by as much as 14% versus in a business-as-usual scenario.
Adoption of the project’s technology facilitates sustainable transitions in a hard-to-decarbonize industry, enhances concrete producer competitiveness, and increases the long-term job security for the workforce. By sharing a material portion of net proceeds from credit sales with its concrete-producer partners, the project enables producers to adopt the technology, retrain the relevant employees, and effectively market low-carbon concrete in a cost-competitive manner. In a nutshell, the project enables cities and communities across the globe to reduce emissions in new construction, ensuring that economic development does not come at the cost of environmental ambitions and providing a pathway to permanent carbon storage in the process.
