Sisk-led consortium secures £500,000 fund from Innovate UK

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The low carbon demonstrator project features a consortium including, Sisk, Ecocem, Ramboll, Loughborough University, Creagh Concrete, Capital Concrete and BRE Group. The innovation aims to revolutionise the commercial viability of low carbon cement within the construction sector.

The project will pioneer the use of Ecocem’s advanced cement technology (ACT), in a demonstrator which will be the first structure of its kind.

A breakthrough cement technology, ACT combines a range of technical innovations with the use of widely available low carbon materials to decarbonise the production of cement by as much as 70 per cent, while enhancing the strength and durability of the concrete it is used to manufacture.

The project will conduct technical and testing verification, as well as environmental assessment and validation of the concrete product, both in a laboratory and at a concrete production and live construction site.

The low carbon demonstrator will be based at NE02/NE03, Wembley Park, where Sisk has been working on the redevelopment of Wembley Park for its long-term client, Quintain for the past 20 years.

Sisk’s innovation and design director Sarah- Jane Pisciotti said: “Carving a route to net zero through innovation is key to our sustainability strategy at Sisk and we are delighted to get this ambitious demonstrator to decarbonise cement off the ground.”

Ecocem’s director of concrete technology deployment John Reddy said: “Since embodied CO2 in construction is 11 per cent of all global emissions, and clinker, the critical ingredient in cement, generates 65 per cent of these, finding ways to reduce emissions from cement and concrete is critical. We have assembled a great delivery team of experts under the leadership of Sisk and our consortium will demonstrate that rapid decarbonisation of the cement and concrete industry is possible now, using ACT technology which brings new thinking to existing proven materials and processes. This funding from Innovate UK is a very welcome investment in delivering a low carbon future for construction and a great example of how governments can take the lead in scaling innovation and enabling decarbonisation.”