Kiilto and Betolar launch the development of a low-carbon floor screed

HELSINKI, Sept. 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Chemical industry company Kiilto and materials technology company Betolar are launching a collaboration to develop low-carbon floor screeds. The ambitious goal is to replace cement as a binder in these products as early as next year.

"This is a revolutionary step forward on our journey towards environmental leadership in our industry. In terms of production volume, floor screeds are one of the largest areas of Kiilto's construction business, so through cooperation we can significantly reduce construction carbon dioxide emissions both in Finland and in our other operating countries in Northern and Eastern Europe. Our goal is to utilise the research information accumulated in this demanding product development work also in developing our other cement-bonded products to be more environmentally friendly," says Miikka Haapa-aho, Construction Business Area Director at Kiilto.

Betolar has developed low-carbon Geoprime technology to replace cement in cement-based construction materials. The technology utilises material side streams from various industries as binders and aggregates for construction materials.

"We have implemented successful material technology solutions for the concrete industry, for example, for the production of environmentally friendly paving stones. The demanding product groups of fine chemistry are very interesting, as a low-carbon solution like Geoprime has not previously been utilised in coatings", says Juha Leppänen, the Founder of Betolar, who is responsible for Betolar's technological development.

Both companies have strong product development expertise based on scientific research. Utilising the Geoprime solution does not require new production lines, which speeds up the commercialisation of the solutions.

"I estimate that we can launch environmentally friendly floor screeds as early as next spring. Floor screeds account for a marginal share of total CO₂ emissions from construction projects, but the reduction in emissions within the product group is significant. The improvement in environmental impact implemented in one product group can later be extended to other products with the same chemical base," says Haapa-aho.

Geoprime solutions utilise extensive research data from different side streams. Betolar's business is to produce recipes for the needs of the construction materials industry, which do not require significant changes to existing production processes. In the production process, binders and aggregates can be replaced by materials from industrial side streams.

"Significant environmental benefits arise in two ways. Firstly, replacing cement with materials from industrial side streams will drastically cut CO₂ emissions from the raw material, to as much as one-fifth of current levels. Secondly, the use of side streams in the production of construction materials significantly reduces the use of virgin natural resources", says Juha Leppänen.

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