Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, will invest £3.2 million in seven innovative projects to help propel the decarbonisation of the UK’s concrete industry.
The seven projects receiving funding
Cemcor Ltd
The funding will aid development of calcined clay from low-grade sources, to produce a new generation of low-carbon cement and concrete.
Cocoon Carbon Ltd
The funding will support work scaling the production of a novel cementitious material from electric arc furnace steel production.
Skanska UK Ltd
The funding will continue repurposing excavated London Clay in concrete applications.
Cemex UK Operations Ltd
The funding will aid development of combining micronised limestone and graphene (CoMLaG) which reduces the carbon footprint of concrete.
John Sisk and Son Ltd
The funding will support Ecocem technology, providing low-carbon concrete solutions to site.
EFC Green Concrete Technology UK Ltd
The funding will support the scale up and implementation of their LowCast geopolymer cement technology.
Materials Processing Institute
The funding will support development of recycled concrete fines (RCF) as a low-carbon cement substitute.
As well as receiving funding from Innovate UK, these projects will link with Innovate UK’s Concrete Commitment Cohort, contributing to ongoing work developing an Advance Market Commitment (AMC) for concrete.
AMCs are commitments, often from government or private donors, to buy or subsidise products, such as low-carbon concrete, as soon as they are successfully developed to incentivise further production.
This competition is an integral part of a pilot programme to understand how Innovate UK may accelerate the development and deployment of climate tech solutions through AMCs.
Dr Stafford Lloyd, Innovation Lead, Clean Growth Strategy, Innovate UK, said:
We’re pleased to announce the projects receiving funding via the Decarbonising Concrete competition. These projects are cutting-edge, and we can expect to see them looking at producing alternative cements and whole new production methods with new additives. Together with our work on AMCs, we’re really starting to accelerate innovation in decarbonising concrete.
The Contracts for Innovation (formerly Small Business Research Initiative) Decarbonising Concrete competition aims to make commercial adoption of low-carbon concrete happen faster.
In doing so, the competition also aims to enable higher engagement between innovative projects and end-users. The project is funded via Innovate UK’s current Net Zero Systems programme.
The programme builds on work completed as part of UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI)Transforming Foundations Industry (TFI) challenge, delivered by Innovate UK.
TFI operates with the clear aim of supporting innovation in the foundation industries, including cement, to make the sector greener, more competitive and in a position to create more sustainable jobs in the long term.
Bruce Adderley, Challenge Director, Transforming Foundation Industries, added:
The TFI challenge’s overall goal is to put the spotlight on those exceptional activities in the foundation industries. Concrete is one of the most emissions-intensive materials to produce.
The Contracts for Innovation: Decarbonising Concrete competition is all about seeing what we can do to make concrete greener sooner, and the seven projects chosen reflect the best and brightest solutions to ensure that.
Projects that applied but didn’t receive funding from Innovate UK can still continue to engage with the wider concrete decarbonisation programme, including the continued work to develop an AMC.
The Contracts for Innovation: Decarbonising Concrete competition is one part of Innovate UK’s broader AMC programme. Additional information can be found on the Innovate UK Business Connect website.
Top image: Wet concrete in a mesh mould. Credit: Pexels