Lujabetoni and Betolar accelerate the global growth of low-carbon concrete

HELSINKI, Sept. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Finnish concrete manufacturer Lujabetoni and materials technology company Betolar to develop a new technology that will introduce new low-carbon concrete products to the industry, ranging from construction elements to cast-in-place applications in Finland and internationally.

A new solution that improves the consolidation rate of low-carbon concrete

Lujabetoni and Betolar have entered a partnership to improve the consolidation rate of low-carbon concrete manufactured from CEM III cement containing GGBFS blast furnace slag. Due to the natural attributes of blast furnace slag, early strength development is slower than with traditional technologies, which presents challenges to the construction process as a whole.

"This new solution opens up a very broad range of applications for low-carbon concrete and  will improve the efficiency of the entire construction process and the feasibility of low-carbon concrete at production plants as well as construction sites. The aim of our cooperation with Betolar is to solve this challenge and make the solution globally available," says Mikko Isotalo, CEO of Lujabetoni.

Concrete is the world's most widely used construction material. However, it has significant adverse climate impacts due to the high CO₂ emissions arising from the production of cement, which is used as a raw material in concrete. Lower-carbon CEM III cement products – whose use has increased quickly, especially in Central Europe – are aimed at reducing the climate impacts of concrete.

The new solution is based on the use of additives that serve as accelerants in the concrete consolidation process. Betolar, who specialise in construction materials technology, had  developed the  additive technology that enhances the early strength development of concrete.

"We are close to a breakthrough with regard to the attributes of cement products that contain high levels of GGBFS blast furnace slag. If we can solve the challenges associated with the structure and attributes of concrete binder, it will be possible to replace the use of traditional cement in the concrete industry. This would significantly reduce the climate impacts of the construction sector," says Lasse Happonen, MD, Precast & ready-mix at Betolar.

The partnership between Lujabetoni and Betolar supports the green transformation of the concrete industry

Now a year into the partnership, the aim is to produce technical solutions that will make it possible to introduce new low-carbon construction materials to the market in the near future. Betolar has quickly expanded its development efforts to support the green transformation of the concrete industry.

"Betolar's business model is built around strong customer insight and cooperation with partners. Working together with pioneering partners helps us understand the needs of industrial operators and influence the development of the industry. At the same time, it ensures the scalability of our business. The partnership with Lujabetoni is very significant for Betolar," says Matti Löppönen, CEO of Betolar.

Betolar's business is underpinned by research with R&D units and laboratories in Espoo as well as Kannonkoski in Central Finland.  The company is currently investing in R&D  to create solutions for the use of industrial side streams, such as slag or fly ash, to promote recyclability in sectors such as construction and mining. At the same time, these solutions will help significantly reduce CO2 emissions and conserve virgin natural resources.

"We have recruited leading professionals in our field in Finland and internationally. Our research and analytics expertise is among the best in the world. For example, in our database we have analysed some 400 different industrial side streams to assess their attributes and combinations. We are now developing an artificial intelligence solution that makes use of this database to identify local solutions for various materials around the world," Löppönen explains.

Lujabetoni is responsible for the factory testing of the technology behind the new CEM III cement products and brings its in-depth concrete expertise to the partnership.

"At Lujabetoni, we aim to provide our customers with industry-leading solutions for low-carbon concrete construction in order to address the big challenge associated with CO₂ emissions from concrete products.  Our partnership with Betolar is key to achieving this goal. We want to work together with the leading companies in the construction industry, which is why we have selected Betolar as our partner," Mikko Isotalo concludes.

For Lujabetoni Media Inquiries:

Mikko Isotalo, CEO, Lujabetoni Oy, tel. +358 44 585 2305, mikko.isotalo@luja.fi

For Betolar Media Inquiries:

Jo Hooke, Gong Communications: Jo.Hooke@gongcommunications.com, +44 (0) 20 7935 4800

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