Innovative carbon removal technology lands in the UK
Aggregate Industries partner with Swiss cleantech start-up neustark to set up carbon removal plant in London
GROUNDBREAKING new technology that removes carbon from the atmosphere and locks it into recycled concrete is being introduced to the UK by Aggregate Industries.
The building materials supplier, part of the global Holcim Group, has partnered with neustark to set up a mineralization plant in London – the first venture in the UK market for the Swiss cleantech start-up which has 19 sites in Europe to date.
Demolished concrete is the world’s largest waste stream and neustark technology can help turn this waste into a carbon sink – permanently locking carbon removed from the atmosphere into processed concrete, creating crucial negative emissions.
The technology works by taking concrete from demolished buildings, which is crushed and screened at an Aggregate Industries UK recycling site. It then undergoes a procedure in which CO2, captured from biogas plants, is liquified and injected into the concrete granules.
This triggers a mineralization process which permanently locks the captured carbon into the granules, which can then be used to make new concrete with the recycled content inside, or other building materials.
To date, neustark have permanently removed more than 2,500 tonnes of carbon since they launched commercially in 2023. Their aim is to remove 1 million tonnes by 2030.
Holcim invested in neustark last year and are collaborating with them to deploy their innovative solution at Holcim operations worldwide, scaling up low-carbon and circular construction to multiple sites. The partnership won the 2023 Deloitte ‘Technology Fast 50’ Venture Client Award for outstanding collaborations between start-ups and large companies.
Lee Sleight, chief executive officer of Aggregate Industries UK, said: ‘We are really excited to be introducing neustark into the UK as part of our aim to decarbonize our own operations and the wider industry.
‘This takes the battle to reduce carbon emissions to the next level through carbonation. The technology is available now and works – it can make a difference now, not in five years’ time.
‘We have London as one of the world’s largest urban mines with direct access to demolished concrete from building projects, and we have the neustark technology. Together we can remove carbon from the atmosphere and permanently lock it into recycled concrete which can then go on to be used again in new building projects.
‘This isn’t just a great carbon-removal innovation, but a great circular economy innovation where we are taking what was once a waste stream and reusing it, saving us from digging up virgin materials in the first place.
‘Once fully operational, we are sure that there will be plenty of like-minded contractors and specifiers out there who want to further their own decarbonization journey with us, and we see this technology scaling up and delivering results very quickly. Together we can really drive towards our net-zero ambitions.’
Valentin Gutknecht, co-founder and chief executive officer of neustark, said: ‘Holcim and neustark have been working together almost since the founding of neustark five years ago. In that short time frame, we’ve tested and trialled the solution at lab and pilot scale, launched our first site in Switzerland, and now our first site in the UK. This is testament to the fact that a partnership between a cleantech scale-up and a global leader in building solutions can create tangible climate impact, today.
‘One million tonnes of CO2 durably removed from the atmosphere in 2030 – that’s our ambition. We’re already well under way towards the megatonne goal. Our strategic partnership with Holcim represents a significant part of this roadmap. It will be a true catalyst to further scale-up the permanent carbon removal impact that we generate in the next few years.’
An initial small-scale mobile plant is now in operation in Greenwich, London, and will start removing hundreds of tonnes of CO2 in the coming months. A large-scale site is set to be installed in the first half of 2025 with the capacity to remove 1,000 tonnes of CO2 per year (net).
As well as the introduction of neustark to the UK, Aggregate Industries are also looking to decarbonize their wider operations, including Cauldon cement plant where they are planning to capture carbon emissions from site and pipe them to permanent storage in disused gas fields underneath the eastern Irish Sea.
