Mitsubishi UBE Cement Corporation announce that their joint project with the city of Kitakyushu, "Pilot production and technology development for application of carbon recycled materials towards social infrastructure projects" has been selected for the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry's (METI) FY2024 grant programme "Enhancement project of self-sustainable resource circulating system through industry-academia-government collaboration"(a call from Green Investment Promotion Organisation).
The City of Kitakyushu is working to promote the concept of a circular economy with the aim of further developing its environmental industries. In 2022, it established the Kitakyushu Circular Economy Vision Promotion Council, a collaboration of industry, government, and academia together with businesses and universities located in Kitakyushu. MUCC, together with the City of Kitakyushu, have established a subcommittee within the council for the utilisation of waste concrete using carbonation (conversion into construction materials and application to public works projects) and have been conducting joint studies and discussions.
This project will recycle local waste for local consumption, centered around MUCC’s Kyushu Plant, located in the Kurosaki district (Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka). It involves the use of CO2 emitted from the cement plant, as well as other waste materials – including waste cement procured from nearby plants, and by-products from chemical plants and steelworks – to produce a range of carbon-recycled materials, such as CO2-fixing recycled aggregate, road base material, and artificial carbonate sand. These materials will be produced on a test scale and used in the construction of public facilities within the City of Kitakyushu.
MUCC have positioned the promotion of measures to combat global warming as a key priority and are working on research and development aimed at realising a zero-carbon society. Through this project, MUCC aim not only to expand and promote the use of carbon recycled materials, but also to establish a resource circulation model that can be applied beyond Kitakyushu to other regions, thereby contributing to the development of carbon recycling markets across Japan.
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