Neustark – a company developing a technology for storing CO2 into demolition concrete has achieved major milestones as it is advancing towards commercialization. The company launched its first commercial site for permanent CO2 storage in the EU. It is located in Berlin, Germany, and mineralizes CO2 in demolition concrete.
The company is partnering with Berlin-based construction and recycling company Heim to open its first commercial site in the EU. It has the capacity to permanently store over 1,000 tons of CO2 per year by injecting the gas into granules of demolition concrete during its usual recycling process. The CO2 is captured at biogas plants.
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The technology works as the captured CO2 from the biogas plants are transported to storage sites. It is then injected into the demolition concrete in its recycling process. Neustark’s technology triggers a mineralization process that converts the CO2 into limestone, binding it to the pores and surface of the granules. The CO2 is permanently stored in the demolition concrete and thus removed from the atmosphere.
The company has now 12 storage sites in operation in Switzerland and Germany, all of which were launched in the last 10 months, with a cumulative annual capacity of around 5,000 tons of CO2.
“Carbon removal is – next to massive emission reductions – indispensable to reach out net-zero targets, as the IPCC states. And that’s exactly what we do at neustark, we literally remove CO2 from the air by storing it in demolition concrete. Now also in Germany, which is a huge step for neustark, but more importantly for the whole CO2 removal industry,” says Johannes Tiefenthaler, founder and co-CEO of neustark.
Neustark also recently announced a new partnership with GF Piping Systems – a solutions provider for the safe and sustainable transport of fluids. Apart from storing CO2 in demolition concrete, Neustart also explored other methods of permanent CO2 storage. One of the projects is mineralizing CO2 in residual water from concrete production. This is achieved with a modular container at the concrete recycling plant.
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The partnership with GF Piping Systems will aim to build a complete solution for measurement, control, and Process Automation for this method. Apart from PVC components, GF Piping Systems provided products ranging from sensors for parameters such as pressure, pH, and tank levels, to a plastic Butterfly Valve 565 with a pneumatic actuator that controls the flow of the residual water.
“Soon after taking up the discussion with neustark, we sponsored some parts for testing and have now completed first orders. The solution they developed is promising and comes with great scaling potential,” said Martin Früh, Business Development Manager Process Automation at GF Piping Systems.
