Interview: From Climate Concrete and the decarbonization of the concrete and cement industry 08/2022

An interview with founding member Dipl. Ing. Axel Preuß

Earlier this summer, you successfully implemented pilot projects with Climate Concrete .

How did you come up with the idea of CarStorCon® technology?

My background is in construction, and it was there that I saw the need for more sustainable alternatives. At the same time, I became aware of biochar as technical carbon and its huge potential as a negative emissions technology. It is currently a niche product that still receives too little attention outside of agriculture.
When incorporated into building materials, permanent and stable carbon sinks can be created in the process, to a much greater extent than in other industrial applications. It was also important to us to establish technical carbon in industry as a material that can replace resource- andCO2-intensive raw materials.

At present, these are mainly concrete and asphalt applications - how much cement can be saved in concrete, for example?

This varies depending on the product and the method of placement, but currently we can replace up to 15% cement with CarStorCon® technology. Worldwide, 98% of CO₂ emissions from concrete come from cement production, so every kilogram of cement that can be saved in concrete is a worthwhile contribution to the climate.
We achieve the sustainable climate-positive effects here through carbon sink technology. With every kilogram of our additive Clim@Add® used, around 3 kilograms ofCO2 are permanently removed from the cycle.

Our additive Clim@Add® not only ensures that building materials become permanent carbon sinks, but also improves the technical properties of the products. Through the improved functionality, we enable even further cement savings.

 

In the case of negative-emission technologies, it is precisely the durability you mentioned that is important - how long will theCO2 be stored?

On the one hand, buildings using Clim@Add® are already a comparatively long-term carbon sink. In addition, the material created by the CarStorCon® technology can be recycled as often as desired and re-functionalized with the repeated addition of Clim@Add®. 

Our approach is that the service life of structures must be drastically extended. This is achieved by improving the quality of building materials. This saves a great deal ofCO2, as maintenance and/or

maintenance measures to be reduced to a minimum.

After all, negative-emission technologies promise to close the gap that we cannot achieve with emissions reduction alone. What makes CarStorCon® technology so special here?

All the major technologies now being pursued to removeCO2 from the production process still need a lot of development time. Our technology is already available now. Especially in comparison with other negative emission technologies that are still in development, we see our approach as a pioneer and bridging technology. The CarStorCon technology® can be implemented quickly, is decentralized and involves a manageable investment volume. In addition, it is very important to me that it is compatible with many other approaches, so that double sustainability effects can often be achieved here.

What do you mean here by double sustainability effects?

There will certainly be no technology that solves everything immediately. That's why we are focusing on compatibility with our technology and on combining it with other solutions. If we combine our technology with concrete recycling orlower-CO2 cements, for example, far greater climate-positive effects can be achieved. In this way, we are able to mutually reinforce sustainability effects and do even more for the climate.

 

What happens now? What's next after the summer?

Following the successful pilot projects, we are primarily implementing further projects to steadily increase the amount ofCO2 saved and diversify our product portfolio. At the same time, we are working to make further residual material streams usable for our technology

Thank you and continued success!