Innovate UK, the country's innovation funding agency, has announced a £3.2m ($4.2m) investment in seven projects to further advance the decarbonisation of the domestic concrete industry.
This funding forms part of the agency's broader effort to foster sustainable practices and reduce carbon emissions within the construction sector.
Cemcor secured funding to develop a new generation of low-carbon cement and concrete from calcined clay sourced from low-grade materials.
Skanska UK will use the funding to continue its work on repurposing excavated London Clay for concrete applications.
Cocoon Carbon's project, which involves scaling the production of a novel cementitious material from electric arc furnace steel production, will also benefit from financial support.
Meanwhile, Cemex UK Operations intends to use the investment to further the development of CoMLaG, a combination of micronised limestone and graphene, which aims to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete.
The funding will also assist John Sisk and Son in advancing Ecocem technology, which provides low-carbon concrete solutions for construction sites.
EFC Green Concrete Technology UK will allocate the funds towards scaling up its LowCast geopolymer cement technology.
Lastly, Materials Processing Institute's project focuses on the development of recycled concrete fines as a low-carbon cement substitute, which will now progress with the help of this investment.
In addition to receiving funding from Innovate UK, these projects will collaborate with the Concrete Commitment Cohort, contributing to the development of an advance market commitment (AMC) for concrete.
AMCs are designed to incentivise the production of innovative products such as low-carbon concrete by guaranteeing a market once they are successfully developed.
This competition is part of a pilot programme exploring how Innovate UK can expedite the development and deployment of climate technology solutions through AMCs.
Innovate UK Clean Growth Strategy innovation lead Dr Stafford Lloyd 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.”
