The more concrete, the less CO₂

Sustainability

Climate-positive concrete from Bton

Bton Fertigteilwerk GmbH has built Germany's first state-of-the-art plant for eco-friendly and climate-optimised concrete. MC-Bauchemie provides the necessary materials for the precast parts.

The more concrete, the less CO₂

Oct 04, 2024

Prefabricator Bton Fertigteilwerk GmbH, founded in 2021, has succeeded in developing the building material of the future. At the end of April 2024, Bton opened Germany’s first state-of-the-art plant for ecologically optimised and climate-positive concrete in Soltau, in Germany’s Lower Saxony.

The climate positive concretes bind more CO₂ that is consumded in their production.
© MC-Bauchemie

Decarbonisation methods and CO₂ savings — The climate positive concretes bind more CO₂ that is consumded in their production.
© MC-Bauchemie

In Soltau, Bton uses a new patented hybrid mixing technology to produce precast concrete components such as façade, wall and ceiling elements for residential construction in compliance with relevant DIN standards. This technology is being used for the first time in a precast plant, enabling not just a reduction in CO₂, but also, through the application of special formulations, the absorption of more CO₂ into the concrete than the total emitted – resulting in the complete decarbonisation of the concrete.

All grades of concrete manufactured at net zero

The concrete formulations and technologies developed by Thomas Sievers, one of the partners of Bton, combine innovative and patented techniques for preparing the raw materials, mixing the concrete and curing, with modern digital algorithms in order to improve the properties of the concrete and make the production processes more efficient. All types of concrete, whether normal, LC (structural lightweight), UHPC (ultra-high performance) or geopolymer concrete (cement-free), can be produced in an automated, ecologically optimised and CO₂-reduced manner and then processed into high-quality prefabricated parts. MC-Bauchemie supplies the concrete admixtures required for the special formulations, as well as release agents, concrete cosmetic products and special mortar for the precast concrete parts. The large-format components produced in this way are designed for duplicate production and will significantly accelerate housing construction.

Substantially reduced CO₂ footprint using Bton

The hybrid mixing technology enables the production of particularly environmentally friendly concrete, which in a first step reduces CO₂ emissions by up to 75% compared to conventional processes. In a second step, plant-based, regenerative material, so-called ‘biochar’, is used, which binds CO₂ and thus reduces the carbon footprint to net zero or even below. This means that these climate-positive concretes bind more CO₂ than is consumed in their production, especially that of cement. And the use of structural fibres as a partial or complete replacement for steel reinforcement results in even more CO₂ being saved in the concrete production process. In short: The more such concretes are produced, the less CO₂ is in circulation. Bton has thus developed an innovation for the future of sustainable, decarbonised construction that is also of interest beyond Germany’s borders, not least because, for example, even ’unusable’ desert sand can also be incorporated in these concretes.