#1. Cutting carbon: net-zero concrete and pine-scented asphalt
The world needs construction materials such as concrete and asphalt, but they account for much of the carbon emissions from the construction and development sector. In this first edition of the Foresight newsletter, we examine new technologies cutting the carbon in concrete, how old asphalt is becoming “black gold” and discover a smart online tool helping builders and designers choose lower-carbon materials.?
Header image illustration by Mike Ellis for Skanska.
The low-carbon future of concrete?
Concrete production comes with a hefty environmental cost, especially when it comes to carbon emissions. Clinker, a key component in cement, is responsible for a significant portion of those emissions.???
Emerging technologies, such as reducing the amount of clinker, and mixing in supplementary cementitious materials like slag or fly ash, make it possible to reduce concrete’s carbon emissions by up to 10-40 percent, says Dr Bob Slansky, Head of Technical Research and Innovation at Skanska Central Europe. He also discusses Rebetong, our initiative that replaces natural aggregates in concrete with recycled construction waste, cutting material costs by up to 15 percent.?
Another way to cut carbon emissions can be found in Brevik, Norway, where Heidelberg Materials is getting ready to launch the first large-scale carbon-capture system in the cement industry. By capturing the CO2 before it’s released into the atmosphere, the plant will be able to produce evoZero, the world’s first net-zero cement, say Karin Comstedt Webb and Dr Wolfgang Dienemann from Heidelberg Materials.?
Read the full story and/or listen to our podcast below to learn more.
On the road to more sustainable asphalt
The construction of asphalt roads has traditionally relied on fossil-fuel products and produced significant carbon emissions. Until now. Parts of the construction sector are reassessing the way that asphalt is both produced and used, with the goal of improving sustainability.?
One example is at our V?llsta Asphalt Plant near Stockholm, Sweden, which was redesigned two years ago to use up to 100-percent recycled asphalt when making new asphalt. Christopher Elofsson, project manager at V?llsta Asphalt Plant, says recycling old asphalt can help reduce CO2 emissions in the production of new asphalt.?
Dr Jiqing Zhu, from the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, recognizes the growing importance of recycling existing asphalt into new asphalt. He refers to the asphalt in today’s roads as tomorrow’s ‘black gold’.??
Jiqing and his colleague Dr Abubeker Ahmed also see a big future for bio-asphalts that replace traditional bitumen with non-petroleum-based renewable resources. Pine oil pitch, a byproduct of paper manufacturing, is one example. At the V?llsta Asphalt Plant, pine oil pitch is mixed with bitumen as a binding agent.??
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A challenge to fulfilling the potential of bio-asphalts lies in determining the properties different types of bio-asphalts have and developing regulations for their use, says Jiqing Zhu.?
Read the full article and/or tune in to our podcast below for more details.?
EC3: the tool helping cut construction emissions
The Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator, better known as EC3, is a tool helping builders and designers worldwide to choose lower-carbon materials.??
Developed by the Skanska USA Commercial Development team and industry partners, and launched in 2019, EC3 uses environmental product declaration (EPD) data to quantify the carbon footprint of more than 16,000 building materials ranging from concrete, steel and gypsum through to carpets and window panes. It’s searchable by material performance requirements and design specifications, project location and global warming potential.?
Besides conventional materials, EC3 lists lower-carbon alternatives which, in many cases, can be substituted without any loss of material performance and often for the same price. By using the tool at the design stage and by making appropriate material purchasing decisions, builders and designers have been able to make major reductions in the amount of embodied carbon in projects.?
?EC3 has been used on every Skanska USA commercial development project since 2020 to calculate possible reductions in carbon emissions. For example, while constructing the 1550 on the Green office tower in Houston, USA, we reduced carbon emissions from materials by 34 percent while using the EC3.??
The tool is rapidly transforming the wider US industry. Available through Building Transparency, it’s open-source and free to use.?
Discover Foresight by Skanska, where we bring together expert insights, knowledge and foresight about shaping a more sustainable built environment. It is also the home of our podcast, Shaping Sustainable Places, where we speak with industry and civic leaders about the solutions and projects making a difference today.?
Whether its refurbished, brand new or AI driven we still seem to forget that more humans are being underutilized and unemployed and adding to a debt problem that cycles into homelessness, suicides etc Veterans are not the only ones whose suicide rates are increasing upon their transition into a civilian society that lauds them with praise but forgets that they have families to feed and house etc. Our young people - with all the tech savvy and unrealistic income goals - are sadly taking their lives in increasing numbers. So, unless we can actively discuss how we can provide sustainable cooperative ventures, why are we spending so much time talking about building something that no one can afford to live in or start a business in to hire others? We need to reimagine all of this from a different landscape and get that information out there! Just sayin... but maybe my 9-11 generated PTSD is kicking in remembering all that rebuilding and asking then why the same folks were building up the city, but the supports (housing, infrastructure, jobs) for the worker bees were not getting addressed. Now, we have beautiful, expensive buildings in NYC & other cities and a worker crisis especially in critical industries such as healthcare
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3 个月Mi piace
Lead Sales Representative specializing in CRM at Commercial Bank of Dubai
3 个月Very helpful
SSHO at USACE New Mexico at SLSCo, Ltd.
3 个月Regarding concrete: there's many uses for recycled crushed concrete. The substitute of powdered/ground metal shards in concrete strengthening in place of re-steel or even scrap steel modification might be cost effective/saving. Regarding asphalt: The reuse of old asphalt coupled with the ground car tires could extend the life Newly recycled asphalt/rubber-steel fabrication and provide additional materials via the combination. With the steel giving added strength resilience to the target while being corrosion resistant from the elements. I just skimmed these two. Just some thoughts off the top.
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