CEMEX Poland join Reincarnate project
Major scheme aims to extend lifecycle of buildings and materials and promote closed-loop economy
CEMEX Poland have announced that they are participating in the ‘Reincarnate’ project, which aims to extend the lifecycle of buildings and materials whilst promoting closed-loop economy solutions in the construction industry.
The project, which started in 2022, involves 16 organizations from European Union countries, as well as Serbia and Hong Kong. It is funded by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. CEMEX Poland are said to be the only representative of the construction materials sector in the group.
As a research and development project, Reincarnate focuses on issues related to the circular economy and seeks to develop technical and social measures that give new possibilities to buildings, construction products and materials - thereby maximizing their lifecycle and determining whether they are suitable for reuse.
Together with partners Mostostal Warszawa and the Polish Green Building Association (PLGBC), CEMEX are developing solutions to extend the lifecycle of a building and, at the same time, reduce construction and demolition (C&D) waste. The company will also develop digital tools such as BIM to track materials, manage C&D waste materials and reduce carbon emissions.
Today, C&D waste accounts for up to 30% of all waste generated in the European Union. Although more than 75% is recycled, there is still a lot of valuable material ending up in landfill. In the long term, the innovations developed in the project are estimated to reduce construction waste by as much as 80% and reduce the CO2 footprint by 70% in the construction sector.
The Reincarnate project will develop the Reincarnate Circular Potential Information Model (CP-IM) platform, which will collect data and serve as a source of technological innovation in areas such as building control and inspection, planning, construction, and dismantling, and CSD identification and classification.
‘We are very proud to see our operation in Poland join the Reincarnate project alongside businesses from across the world,’ commented Ruediger Kuhn, vice-president of materials central Europe at CEMEX. ‘We believe that collaborating with innovative businesses and industries is vital if we are to achieve our goal of operating as a net-zero organization by 2050. We are excited to see what is developed as part of this partnership, and the positive impact it will have on the more sustainable construction solutions available to our customers.’
He continued: ‘CEMEX Poland actively supports all initiatives whose goals are consistent with our global climate strategy ‘Future in Action’. An example of such an initiative is the ambitious Reincarnate project, under which we intend to develop, among other things, concrete products with a low carbon footprint and the possibility of using recycled aggregates. We are also digitizing our processes and the information we provide.’
