Omya and Empa Develop Climate Cement in NEST

(CONNECT) Omya is a new partner in NEST, the modular research and innovation building of Empa and Eawag in Dübendorf. In the Beyond.Zero unit, which has been based there since the beginning of 2024, they want to test a cement-reduced concrete that they have developed in a joint research project, according to a statement from Empa.

Omya contributed its expertise as a global specialist in industrial materials. "The fact that we can now jointly develop sustainable building materials and test them directly in NEST under real conditions accelerates the transfer of innovations into climate-friendly construction methods," Empa Director Tanja Zimmermann is quoted as saying.

This innovative building material replaces up to 70 percent of its clinker content with natural minerals. As Empa explains, this significantly reduces its CO2 footprint. "For a new type of concrete to be widely accepted, it needs to be tested in practice," says Empa researcher Mateusz Wyrzyklowski from Empa's Concrete and Asphalt department. "By using the NEST Beyond.Zero unit, we can comprehensively validate our cement-reduced concrete: from processing to durability."

The aim is a building material "that not only meets the ecological requirements, but is also convincing in terms of workability, mechanical properties, volume stability and durability", according to Empa. The Beyond.Zero unit goes beyond the net zero target in construction. It pursues the vision that buildings will be able to serve as carbon sinks in the future - in other words, they will have a negative CO2 balance on balance. The construction sector currently accounts for around 28 percent of CO2 emissions in Switzerland. ce/mm