Aggregate Industries and neustark are teaming up to reduce carbon emissions in the construction industry. The partnership will involve injecting liquefied carbon dioxide (CO2) into demolished and recycled concrete at a site in London.
neustark, a Swiss carbon removal company, has already successfully removed 2,500kg of carbon from the atmosphere using 19 sites across Europe. The Greenwich site in London aims to sequester an average of 10kg of CO2 per recycled tonne of concrete, resulting in an estimated 1,000 tonnes of CO2 removal annually.
Aggregate Industries, committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, has multiple sites in the Greenwich area. The collaboration with neustark will take place at the Angerstein Wharf facility.
The construction industry is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, with cement production alone accounting for 7%. Despite industry efforts to decarbonize, the UK construction sector is lagging behind its net-zero goals, as highlighted by the UK Green Building Council.
By utilizing mineral carbonation, neustark and Aggregate Industries aim to accelerate decarbonization in the construction sector. This process transforms demolished concrete, a substantial waste stream of 1 billion tonnes per year, into a carbon sink.
neustark’s technology offers a more permanent solution compared to carbon capture and storage (CCS). While the UK government has allocated significant funding to CCS, neustark emphasizes the long-term benefits of its CO2 removal (CDR) technology.
neustark’s process involves sourcing CO2 from biogas plants, where it is separated from methane through biogas upgrading. The captured CO2 is liquefied and injected into mineral waste streams, such as demolished concrete. This mineralization process permanently stores the CO2 within the aggregate, creating carbonated, recycled building materials like concrete.
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neustark CEO and co-founder Valentin Gutknecht said: “The UK is an ideal market for us as it has a mature supply chain and the infrastructure we need to remove CO2 at scale. The government is supportive of building a competitive carbon market and shifting the industry away from early-stage developments to a competitive commercial set-up.
“But there is not enough focus on carbon removal, or consideration of how carbon removal can be embedded into existing supply chains and industries beyond oil and gas rather than always requiring extensive new infrastructure.
“This partnership is proof that collaboration between a cleantech start-up and global leader in building solutions can create tangible climate impact today. The rest of the construction industry should follow suit and we need to look at other applicable industries too.”
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