Carbon Upcycling Awarded £2.3 Million to Manufacture Climate-Resilient Cement from Waste Glass and CO2
Carbon Upcycling Technologies (Carbon Upcycling), a carbon utilization company that manufactures CO2-enhanced cement and concrete additives, announced today that it has received £2.3 million in funding from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
This will be the first commercial-scale cement additive plant in the world to combine CO2 sequestration and waste glass, as well as Carbon Upcycling's first project in Europe.
The commercial pilot will capture up to five tonnes of CO2 emissions per day from a post-consumer glass recycling facility while also extending the life of 50 tonnes of colored glass waste.
This equates to the project preventing approximately 16,500 tonnes of local crushed glass from entering landfills, sequestering approximately 1,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere, and reducing over 15,000 tonnes of carbon emissions over the course of its lifecycle through cement abatement.
This funding will support a consortium, led by Carbon Upcycling, including CEMEX,
Glass Technology Services, Matthew Demon, President of British Glass (MKD32), and others in the glass and cement industries.
“We are committed to lead efforts that support the decarbonization of the cement sector by combining our extensive industry knowledge with the most promising and innovative solutions” expressed Gonzalo Galindo, Head of CEMEX Ventures.
“At CEMEX, we aim to reach net-zero by 2050 and this project with Carbon Upcycling is an important milestone towards utilizing captured carbon to help achieve this goal. This project will help us to double the industry’s use of cement replacements by 2030 and allow CEMEX to participate in a circular economy project.”
Carbon Upcycling will utilize its patented carbon utilization process to activate post-consumer colored glass fines. “Generally, this waste from glass is difficult to recycle cost-effectively,” said Glass Technology Services.
“Sequestering CO2 emissions and producing high-performance supplementary cementitious materials for use in low-carbon concrete and blended cement will create a new generation of climate-resilient materials for infrastructure.”
“The commencement of the glass valorization and low carbon cement project is a big milestone for Carbon Upcycling in our journey towards real-world impact.
By creating a valuable product from one of the toughest waste streams in the glass industry, and using cement flue gas directly in its process, Carbon Upcycling will provide the UK market with a low-cost, low-carbon alternative to imported cementitious materials,” said Apoorv Sinha, CEO of Carbon Upcycling Technologies.
“This project is fundamentally aligned with Carbon Upcycling’s vision of a truly circular carbon economy and is one of a handful of exciting projects highlighting the versatility of our technology and the ambitions of our organization.”
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