A groundbreaking zero-emission recycled structural material for a resource-efficient and sustainable built environment

The green transformation of Sweden is at its full speed. The task of achieving a sustainable, circular, and resource-efficient built environment is extremely demanding. Most of that responsibility is put on the construction industry. This sector is the driving force for new constructions but also the maintenance, modernization, and demolition of existing structures. The construction industry is heavily dependent on concrete, which is characterized by a very high CO2 footprint, mostly related to the usage of Portland cement.

The project aims to tackle the sustainability of concrete and building materials and resource efficiency by developing a new method to produce ZERO-emission concrete using only recycled materials. The hypothesis is based on the initial test results obtained by the project team, which showed that by using optimized crushing and milling, it is possible to produce new good-quality concrete using recycled cement and aggregates without the need to add any new materials, not even the cement. The technology has an incredible potential to affect climate even on a global scale. Utilizing the waste concrete that is only produced in Europe, it could potentially recover 30 million tons of binders annually. In Sweden, this number could reach 0,4 million tons. This new method can create the foundation for a real breakthrough in sustainability not only in concrete but in the entire construction industry, which is heavily based on this material.