Betolar calls for a new low-carbon standard at London’s Concrete Expo

Current standards state that concrete manufacturers must use a certain percentage of cement to strengthen the finished product. The Geoprime solution converts previously underused industrial side-streams into a cement alternative, however ageing standards rule out the use of products such as this by stating the use of cement only. However, alternatives such as Betolar’s Geoprime solution are as effective as cement with up to 80% less CO2 emissions.

The cement industry in the UK is worth over £900 m. Globally, there is a need for four billion tonnes of cement per year. Blast furnace slag is a commonly used side-stream in concrete production. However, with only ca. three hundred million tonnes of slag available there is a huge need for new alternatives.

Betolar’s advanced AI based material research has analysed over 200 side-streams other than slag and fly ash, providing flexibility to process locally available side-streams. There are also significant CO₂ savings in logistics when manufacturing processes take place near the source of the industrial side-streams.

The building sector needs low-carbon solutions now to meet the growing demand from customers and governments that have pledged to get to net-zero by 2050. The UK government has put in place multiple incentives in the last few years to reach this goal.

• At the end of 2021, the UK government announced the launch of the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, which is a £1 billion fund to support the development of low-carbon technologies across various sectors, including construction. The fund supports innovative projects that aim to reduce emissions in the construction industry, such as the use of low-carbon materials and new construction methods.
• Several green finance initiatives have been launched recently that aim to support sustainable construction projects - e.g. the Green Finance Institute is working to increase investment in sustainable infrastructure, including green buildings.
• The UK government has established the Construction Innovation Hub, which is a research and development centre focused on promoting innovation and sustainability in the construction industry. The hub works on a range of initiatives such as digital technologies that optimise the use of circular materials and the development of new sustainable business models.

Riku Kytömäki, CEO of Betolar said“It is time for global concrete industry to step up their sustainability efforts. New material innovation is available. It is cost-effective and helps to meet stricter durability requirements. However, the current regulations across the markets are restricting the use of circular materials allowed in concrete buildings.”

“We respond to this challenge with our Geoprime solution, which can be used to replace cement in the production of concrete with side-stream materials. The solution does not require large investments, but there is regulation to be developed quickly so that new solutions and materials can be used."

For the past six years, Betolar has been utilising its proprietary cloud-based AI platform to analyse and model data from over 200 different industrial side-streams to optimise concrete recipes using Geoprime for performance in strength and viscosity. Betolar's continuous innovative approach ensures that mainstream concrete manufacturers licensing Geoprime globally can offer sustainable concrete alternatives using locally available side-streams - fly ash, slag, clay, natural pozzolans, silica fume, rice husk and bauxite.

Betolar’s team is supported by leading venture capital investors Ajanta, Entrada, Voima Ventures, Taaleri and Valve Ventures.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/09052023/betolar-calls-for-a-new-low-carbon-standard-at-londons-concrete-expo/