Empa is researching climate-friendly concrete
A research project by the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa) for sustainable cement receives a grant of 2.2 million Swiss francs from the Swiss National Science Foundation. Together with Finnish partners, the researchers should find out how CO2 can best be bound in concrete.
The Swiss National Science Foundation ( SNSF ) is funding a five-year project by the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research ( Empa ) to research CO2 binding in cement. As part of the SNSF Advanced Grant, the scientists working with project manager Barbara Lothenbach will receive 2.2 million francs for their research project, according to a press release .
The grant replaces funds from the European Research Council of the European Commission , to which Swiss researchers currently have no access.
With the help of the funding, the Empa experts will carry out basic research in the field of CO2 binding in cement together with partners from the Finnish University of Oulu.
The background to the project called Low Carbon Magnesium-Based Binders is that the cement industry releases large amounts of carbon dioxide. At the same time, concrete is considered a beacon of hope for binding CO2 and thus as a potential reducer of climate-damaging greenhouse gases if it is based on magnesium and not on lime as is usually the case.
Starting in 2023, the researchers will find out how stable magnesium concrete is in the long term, how it can best be produced on construction sites and how temperature, pH value and other factors affect the molecular level.