Public Funding for DB Group (Holdings) Limited

The cost of repairs due to chloride and carbonation-induced reinforcement corrosion/premature deterioration of concrete structures made with conventional cements and mild steel reinforcement is very large. The impacts of cement manufacture on global CO2 emissions are significant (approx. 8% of global emission). There is thus a strong demand from owners of concrete assets (eg Environment Agency, Highways Authorities) to specify lower carbon concretes whilst addressing concerns a risk averse/conservative construction industry. Alkali Activated Cementitious Materials (AACMs) can offer 80% savings in embodied CO2 but limited understanding of the protection they offer to corrosion of steel reinforcement in aggressive service environments (such as marine or highways) is limiting their market growth. Cemfree (manufactured by an SME with strong ambitions to grow) is a leading UK AACM. DULCET will develop/prove a new Cemfree reinforced concrete range for use in aggressive chloride environments (from saline coastal water and highway de-icing) where reinforcement corrosion is effectively "designed-out" through combining with a non-corroding composite reinforcement (based on basalt fibre) instead of steel. This will accelerate adoption of Cemfree AACM in aggressive environments and wider markets for reinforced concrete as there is no need to worry about reinforcement corrosion (or to wait until completion of complicated long-duration research to develop guidance for AACMs to ensure protection of steel from corrosion). The new basalt fibre reinforcement also offers 40% carbon savings on conventional reinforcement, weight savings and is recyclable at end-of-life. DULCET will enable the basalt reinforcement market to grow, address barriers and bring economies of scale to manufacturers. The project will address issues/concerns such as the bond of Cemfree to the innovative reinforcement, develop generic concrete component designs, rebar layouts, assess buildability on construction sites and prove durability and engineering performance of the reinforced components.

Global demand for concrete, the primary volume construction material for most structural applications, continues to grow. The majority of concrete relies on use of Portland cement (PC) as the only economic binder meeting performance and durability requirements under the wide range of conditions in which concrete is used. However, **PC manufacture accounts for c.5-8% of global CO2 emissions** so alternatives are urgently required. 50% of ready-mixed concrete is used in foundations below ground and must be carefully designed to resist chemical attack (e.g. sulfates as described in BRE Special Digest 1, Concrete in Aggressive Ground), often increasing the amount of cement used in the foundation and consequently the environmental impact. LOCOWAG will develop and assess (via laboratory testing and site pilots) innovative concrete formulations in which PC is replaced with novel 'Alkali-activated cementitions material' (AACM) 'Cemfree' (manufactured by UK SME DB Group (DBG)). Cemfree has potential to reduce the CO2 associated with a concrete foundation relative to PC. Cemfree concrete is also more resistant to chemical attack, derisking the use of concrete in the ground. LOCOWAG will enable DBG markets to grow. It will also unlock markets more widely for AACMs in critical construction applications, creating a high- volume market for AACM (and low carbon cement manufacturers more widely). However Cemfree (and AACMs generally) are not covered by existing concrete standards and therefore unable to be widely used. The project will: 1. Develop, assess and demonstrate Cemfree-based concrete formulations meeting user needs for foundations (buildings and infrastructure). 2. Demonstrate and assess use of Cemfree in piling to de-risk adoption. 3. Carry out laboratory tests to assess durability of Cemfree-based concrete formulations in sulfate-rich conditions (and other key performance characteristics), and compare with those of PC-based and other AACM-based concretes. 4. Assess and address barriers to market (especially the need for industry-wide guidance and acceptance, such as BS8500 and BRE SD1). The 2-year project will be led by DBG, together with a supply chain orientated consortium piling contractor (J Murphy and Sons, (JMS)), precast pile manufacturer (Centrum). BRE (an impartial centre of expertise that also develops application guidance for the construction industry) will carry out laboratory testing essential for updating guidance and support DBG in project management. We will work with standards bodies (BSI, Green Construction Board) to address key standards-related barriers to market uptake. An Industry stakeholder group (regulators, manufacturers, end-users) will help guide outputs (e.g. BRE documents) and address barriers to mainstream use.

Around the world, construction designers have been exploring ways to deliver highly efficient "net zero" buildings with a reduced energy demand. A key motivation for this is because around 40% of man-made global carbon emissions come from the construction and operation of buildings. Although significant advances in reducing building's operational energy have been made, the energy use within the construction process remains high. One of the biggest opportunities for concrete and steel energy-efficiency lies in the volume and energy-intensive production of a building's structure. Because despite advances in manufactured approaches to construction, the vast majority of buildings are still delivered through a traditional approach to steel-framed construction. We propose a prefabricated offsite alternative: a reusable, net-zero carbon structure made from recycled steel and cement-free concrete. Targeting commercial offices and infrastructure applications, the components will be manufactured offsite and delivered to the project site as sub-assemblies and installed as a single operation. Compared with conventional construction this will reduce: * Weight of the structural frame by 10% * Structural steel content by 15-20% * Deliveries to site by 40% * Labour resources for steel frame erection and following trades by 60% * Reduced embodied energy (and therefore carbon reduction of 80%) * Cement content in floors by 100% Through the application of digital engineering and sensor technology, the project will interrogate design and construction elements to optimise the design-life of the product, and create an end-of-life deconstruction strategy for the building, making it reusable. Key aims include ease of manufacture, ease of assembly on site, reduction in complexity, improved safety, logistics and long-term performance. We will deliver a full factory trial of a two-storey, 9mx12m demountable mock-up assembly. The output will be energy efficient, reusable and scalable. The solution supports both the cement and steel industry to be more energy efficient and competitive: * The full-scale mock-up and performance testing of a clinker-free concrete in a structural module will demonstrate the material's capabilities in structural applications and offer a route to market - increasing trust and catalysing the uptake of low-energy (and carbon) concrete products * The development of a reusable product and an 80% offsite construction methodology will significantly increase the ease of reuse and rework of steel, helping future-proof the steel industry. We viewed this competition as an opportunity for the construction, concrete and steel industries to work collaboratively to develop an impactful low-energy solution suited to widespread adoption, accelerating all three industries simultaneously.

"This collaboration is designed to develop the HIPER pile, a cutting-edge Keltbray Piling development that has the potential to revolutionise the piling industry. It combines a series of new, emerging technologies and ""around the corner"" innovations to create larger benefits applied to foundation solutions. The project is perfectly aligned with Construction 2025 objectives and the UK Industrial Strategy. A game changing development with wide-ranging benefits that has the potential to enhance the standing and reputation of the collaborating parties involved, and to drive larger industry change in the UK and beyond. * Improved Productivity * Enhanced capacity * Environmental benefits * 100% Re-use * Reduced embodied CO2 **Future research:** The project is focused on the combined deployment of a suite of highly innovative technologies. Further research includes, but is not limited to: * HIPER pile solutions applied to deep embedded retaining walls * Fully building integrated hybrid environmental control systems that combine ground source heat pumps and geothermal systems with rain water collection, solar thermal arrays, as well as solar PV and wind generated renewable energy to operate the system * Following this first step, the longer term vision is that hollow deep foundations can become more than a structural component in support of the development of (near) zero carbon and energy plus buildings and districts"

Manufacturing processes for concretes using Portland cement (PC) are well established and account for 5-8% of global man-made CO2. End users of concrete products now demand low environmental impacts. However, reducing these impacts whilst still meeting user requirements (product performance and volume) remains a major challenge for the industry in the UK & globally. The project will address this challenge by developing and scaling up new manufacturing processes and implementing materials innovation to enable the cost effective production of low CO2 concrete products from alternative binders to PC based on waste or byproduct materials that harden by a chemical activation. The project will also assess the use of reclaimed materials (e.g. landfilled pfa) without use of conventional PC and as a partial replacement for PC in conventional concrete. It will thus address manufacturing challenges and broaden the scope of materials inputs & end user segments to create solutions scalable by UK SMEs and support them to develop new services for a large market.

Concrete, a composite material composed mainly of water, aggregate, and cement, is the second most consumed substance on earth, after water. It is indispensable for construction activity and tightly linked to the global economy. Yet cement has a significant, negative environmental impact, notably in CO2 emissions, water consumption and energy use. Producing concrete generates more CO2 than aviation and is the third largest, man-made contributor to global CO2 emissions. The construction industry urgently needs an innovative solution, to enable the continued use of concrete, a highly versatile building material, whilst also contributing to global sustainability targets.David Ball Group has created Cemfree, an innovative concrete binder which eliminates the need for cement. Our innovation enables us to activate latently hydraulic materials such as Ground Granulated Blast-furnace Slag (GGBS) such that no cement is needed. Our Cemfree concrete is fully compatible with existing infrastructure, meets industry’s engineering requirements, can increase site productivity and has a dramatically improved environmental impact.This project will unlock the potential of our eco-innovation by performing a techno-economic feasibility study focused on Cemfree’s commercial development.