Displaying items by tag: Innovandi

Global: Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has launched the Innovandi Open Challenge 2025, inviting start-ups to wok together with cement manufacturers around the world in developing low carbon concrete technologies.

The Open Challenge is looking for start-ups working on next generation materials for net zero concrete, including low-carbon admixtures, supplementary cementitious materials, activators or binders. The challenge aims to find ways to reduce clinker use and incorporate new materials to lower CO₂ emissions.

The programme follows three previous Open Challenges.

Chief executive Thomas Guillot said "Advanced production methods which are decarbonising our sector are already being used in cement and concrete production in many parts of the world. Through the Innovandi Open Challenge, start-ups can bring in even newer ideas and further accelerate our industry's push."

“If you are a start-up from anywhere in the world with an innovative idea or technology, then we want to hear from you."

Start-ups can find more information and apply to take part in the Innovandi Open Challenge by going to the GCCA Open Challenge 4 webpage: Innovandi Open Challenge 4 : GCCA

Global: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has announced new collaborations between global cement manufacturers and technology start-ups, focusing on the development of low carbon concrete. Four start-ups—EnviCore in Canada, Queens Carbon and Chement, both in the US and NeoCrete in New Zealand—were part of the 2023 GCCA Innovandi Open Challenge and have now partnered with cement manufacturers. These partnerships aim to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete.

The startups will receive access to industry plants, labs and networks to fast-track their technologies. They will also demonstrate their progress on 6th June 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand, during the GCCA's CEO and Leaders Conference. The association continues its efforts under the 2050 Net Zero Concrete Roadmap, with 29 new start-ups shortlisted this year to work on carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technology.

Global: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has received nearly 100 applications from worldwide tech start-ups for its Innovandi Open Challenge, which targets the decarbonisation of cement and concrete. This year's challenge is centred on carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies.

Thomas Guillot, GCCA’s Chief Executive, said "There are already more than 100 CCUS cement industry pilots, projects and announcements in the pipeline across the world – with the world’s first commercial scale carbon capture and storage plant set to complete later this year. Innovation will help our industry to deploy this technology further and faster."

Claude Loréa, GCCA’s Cement, Innovation and ESG Director, said "It’s really encouraging to see nearly 100 applications for our Innovandi Open Challenge and from all parts of the world. As well as the US, UK and India, we’ve received applications from China, Greece and Australia for the first time. It demonstrates the high level of interest in working with our industry to make cement and concrete net zero. We’re looking forward to assessing all the applications, in detail."

The association, alongside over 50 experts from member companies, will now review and shortlist the most deployable technologies, offering shortlisted start-ups access to key industry resources and networks.

UK: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has launched the 3rd Innovandi Open Challenge 2024, with a focus on the deployment of carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) for the decarbonisation of cement and concrete. Possible fields of study include process-integrated and end-of-pipe capture. The 1st Innovandi Open Challenge 2024 previously focused on CCUS, and has now produced two projects at pilot stage.

Cement, innovation and environmental, social and governance (ESG) director Claude Loréa said "Our industry is committed to achieving net zero and the development of carbon capture technology is a key part of that work. Our world-leading Innovandi Open Challenge programme has already seen remarkable progress in just two years, with start-ups and our member companies working together. We're looking forward to seeing what this year's applicants can bring, to build on the extensive work that is already underway across the world."

UK: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) will launch the 3rd Innovandi Open Challenge on 20 February 2024. The programme aims to bring together select green technology start-ups and global cement producers. The GCCA will announce details of the challenge's topic at the launch event on 20 February 2024, featuring industry and start-up speakers, including previous challenge participants. Registration is accessible here on the GCCA website.

GCCA chief executive officer Thomas Guillot said "Innovation and new technologies will help unlock our industry’s net zero future. Join us on 20 February 2024 to hear about this year’s exciting challenge."

Register for the 3rd Innovandi Open Challenge3rd Innovandi Open Challenge

World: Carbon capture technology developer Nuada has entered into partnerships with four global cement market leaders. Cementos Argos, Cementos Molins, Holcim and Siam Cement Group (SCG) will all collaborate with Nuada to evaluate its latest carbon capture system for use in cement plants. The parties concluded the agreements with the support of the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), through its Innovandi Open Challenge.

Cementos Argos future tech leader Daniel Duque said “The GCCA Innovandi Open Challenge is a tremendous initiative where cement players collaborate with innovative companies that are developing the technologies and business models of a low CO₂ construction industry. Nuada technology is a very interesting proposal with great potential.”

Cementos Molins’ chief innovation officer, Ignacio Machimbarrena, said “We are steadfast in our commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Acknowledging the crucial role of carbon capture in this mission, we see Nuada's innovative Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) technology as a promising solution. Cementos Molins is fully dedicated to supporting this pioneering technology and collaborating with industry partners to pave the way for a greener future.”

Holcim’s global head of research and development, Edelio Bermejo, said “With carbon capture projects around the world and a commitment to invest US$2.28bn by 2030, we are leading our industry’s transition to a net-zero future. Partnering with Nuada will facilitate the testing and accelerate the deployment of their technology, ultimately supporting the scaling up of carbon capture efforts. We look forward to continued innovation and collaboration within the industry towards the goal of a net-zero future.”

SCG carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) director Surachai Vangrattanachai said "Collaborating with Nuada has been instrumental in our pursuit of innovative solutions. Their commitment to advancing technology aligns seamlessly with SCG's vision for sustainable progress. Together, we aim to pioneer transformative initiatives that drive us closer to net zero emissions.”

The GCCA’s cement, innovation and ESG director Claude Loréa said “This announcement is a testament to the success of the GCCA’s pioneering Innovandi Open Challenge Programme. It’s great to see Nuada – one of the first start-ups we worked with when we launched the programme in 2021, going from strength to strength, and helping to develop the vital carbon capture technology our industry needs to help us achieve net zero by 2050.”

Nuada co-chief executive director Conor Hamill said “The commitment of these major cement players to collaborate with Nuada attests to the potential of our carbon capture innovation as a cornerstone solution for low-carbon cement, and we eagerly anticipate working together to accelerate its deployment.”

It’s been a good week for graphene usage in the cement and concrete industries, with a trial set to take place at Breedon Group’s Hope cement plant and the inclusion of four graphene projects in the Global Cement & Concrete Association’s (GCCA) shortlist for its second second Innovandi Open Challenge.

The trial at the Hope cement plant was scheduled to take place on 28 June 2023, alongside First Graphene, Morgan Sindall Construction and the University of Manchester. The plan was to use 1.2t of First Graphene’s PureGraph product by testing different dispersion methods and dosage rates. The graphene was going to be prepared as a grinding aid and then added to cement grinding mill feed. Dispersion into the cement production line was planned to occur over a 24-hour period using traditional grinding aid dosage lines, with minimal operational or mechanical change required to the existing plant.

The cement produced was then going to be validated by Breedon’s quality control team to assess its performance enhancement. Overall the trial was going to produce around 2000t of graphene-enhanced cement during the trial. This cement will then be passed to Morgan Sindall Construction for real-world construction demonstrations. First Graphene reckoned that the trial was going to produce the largest volume of graphene-enhanced cement manufactured to date.

First Graphene and the other partners haven’t released any information yet on how the trial went. However, the results will be used to build on data obtained from smaller scale trials previously conducted at a concrete processing laboratory in the UK.

Elsewhere, the 15 projects shortlisted by the GCCA, as part of the Innovandi Open Challenge, were set to pitch their ideas for access to the scheme. The benefits of inclusion on the scheme include access to industry plants, laboratories, networks and the expertise and infrastructure of the manufacturer members of the association. 70 applications were made for the second Innovandi round. The first round in 2021 was focused on carbon capture and utilisation and two projects eventually made it to the pilot stage. This time the emphasis is on low-carbon concrete.

The graphene-related contenders for Innovandi in the current round include Nano Crete, Nanospan India, SeaMix and Versarien Graphene. All four companies are promoting concrete admixtures that use graphene. Given the brief for this Innovandi round, these projects are focused on concrete production as opposed to the trial at the Hope cement plant, mentioned above, which is testing graphene addition during cement grinding.

Nanospan India, for example, is promoting its Spanocrete product. It says that its admixture acts as a superplasticizer and accelerator, allowing for reduced cement and water consumption, a shorter curing cycle and an increase in compressive strength. US-based SeaMix (part of MEP Group), meanwhile, has developed its own concrete admixture that uses chopped basalt fibres and graphene. It too offers greater compressive strength and reduced cement consumption for the resulting concrete. However, it also allows for the use of any non-potable water source, a compelling selling point for construction companies trying to minimise the use of drinking water.

It is early days yet for the application of graphene in the cement and concrete sectors. Graphene was first produced at the University of Manchester in 2004. Just under 20 years later and various products are emerging with test projects slowly gathering pace and even commercial applications, such as SeaMix and others, building up their portfolios. Various challenges such as reduced workability, the high cost of graphene or even concerns about simply handling graphene get raised in discussions about the wider adoption of graphene-based admixtures but so far these do not seem insurmountable. We await the outcomes of the trial at Hope and the selections of the second round of Innovandi.

For more on Seamix read the interview with Rey Rubio, the Vice President of MEP Consulting Engineers, in the July - August 2023 issue of Global Cement Magazine

World: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has received over 70 submissions to its Innovandi Open Challenge 2023, and is now preparing the shortlist of startups to present their pitches on 30 June 2023. The Innovandi Open Challenge seeks new disruptive technologies to help to achieve net zero cement and concrete production by 2050. Startups selected under the challenge will have the opportunity to partner with the GCCA and its members to further develop their products.

GCCA cement director and innovation lead Claude Loréa said “To receive more than 70 quality applications from start-ups for this year’s Innovandi Open Challenge is hugely encouraging, and shows what level of interest and work is being done to help drive climate action, with applications received from every region of the world." She concluded "Our vital industry needs products which are affordable, scalable and easily adopted. We look forward to sifting through the applications with our member companies and working with those who are selected.”

India: More than 75 representatives from academic institutions and businesses from across the world are attending the Innovandi Global Cement and Concrete Research Network (GCCRN) Spring Week taking place in New Delhi. The GCCRN has brought together 450 researchers and scientists from more than 40 universities and institutions, including the EPFL in Switzerland, South East University in China, University of Toronto in Canada, the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, the University of Cape Town, Imperial College London in the UK, as well as 35 cement and concrete manufacturers and their suppliers. The focus of the conference is to work towards reaching net-zero CO₂ concrete production, including sourcing and improving alternatives to clinker, work on calcined clays, concrete recycling – plus its carbonation and durability - as well as kiln electrification and carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS).

Claude Loréa, the Innovation and ESG Director at the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), said “Global Innovation collaboration and research will help unlock our industry’s decarbonisation mission. Spring Week is the key date in the GCCA’s Innovandi calendar. It provides an opportunity for our partners to meet face-to-face, exchange ideas, run workshops, and measure progress on key research projects in line with our industry’s 2050 Net Zero Roadmap. Our industry and our key partners are stepping up to the challenge and it’s fantastic to see the progress on some of the 75 PhD candidates supported by the GCCRN.”

The event is also updating attendees about progress made by projects involved with the Innovandi Open Challenge. This initiative matches start-ups with GCCA member companies from around the world, to help scale up research and technical innovation. Two of the six start-ups selected in 2022 at the first ever Innovandi Open Challenge, which focused mainly on carbon capture and utilisation, have already gone to pilot stage. Applications for the second challenge, which focuses on low carbon concrete, close on 15 May 2023.

The GCCRN was set up by the GCCA, a lobbying group representing more than 80% of the world’s cement and concrete manufacturers outside of China. All GCCA member companies are committed to decarbonising the industry by the mid-21st Century, in line with the GCCA’s Concrete Future 2050 Net Zero Roadmap.

UK: The Global Cement & Concrete Association (GCCA) held an online launch for its second Innovandi Open Challenge on 14 March 2023. The global challenge matches start-up companies with some of the world’s leading cement and concrete manufacturers, which operate in almost every country across the world, to work on initiatives to cut emissions and pioneer environmental change across the industry. The launch follows the success of the first ever Innovandi Open Challenge in 2022, which saw cement companies partnering with six start-ups, with a strong focus on carbon capture and utilisation projects.

This time around, applicants are being asked to work on the development of new materials and ingredients for low carbon concrete – a major step towards the goal of net zero concrete. Alternative materials, including construction and demolition waste, can result in far lower CO2 emissions than traditional concrete, as well as reduce the need to use virgin raw materials. The applications phase will last until mid-May 2023.

Thomas Guillot, CEO of the GCCA, said “We’re calling on the best and the brightest from around the world to join us in the urgent fight to limit global warming and help towards delivering the great prize of net zero concrete. If you are a start-up from Austria to Australia, from Brazil to Bangladesh, with an innovative idea or technology, then we want to hear from you.”

Those companies that are accepted for this year’s Innovandi Open Challenge will gain unique access to industry plants, laboratories, key networks and the expertise and infrastructure of the GCCA’s 40 members from around the world. They will also receive guidance from the GCCA and its members to help them with the development of new technology and business cases.

Claude Loréa, GCCA cement director and innovation lead, said “We’ve already seen some remarkable progress from those start-ups who’ve been working with our members on the first Innovandi Open Challenge, with several projects already in the pilot stage. This year’s theme, low carbon concrete, is equally challenging. To succeed, we need products which are affordable, scalable and easily adopted. Good luck to all this year’s applicants. We look forward to working with those selected.”