Ready-mix concrete supplier Capital Concrete says it is responding to the construction industry's increasing interest in environmentally friendly building materials by using an ultra-low-carbon alternative to traditional cement.
Capital Concrete is dedicating two 60-tonne silos to the low-carbon Cemfree product at its new batching plants in London, UK, ready to service the demand of ready-mix concrete within the M25. Cemfree is a product of UK-based DB Group, which says that Capital Concrete is the only ready-mix concrete supplier in the London area stocking Cemfree in this way.
In the wake of recent publicity regarding carbon emissions, DB Group says the construction industry has experienced unprecedented interest in low-carbon alternatives. It adds that many firms are not only concerned with meeting potential future legislated targets, but are also aiming to satisfy internal company goals to meet the challenges of a carbon-neutral future.
Capital Concrete MD Luke Smith said: “We have a strong reputation for developing cutting-edge solutions and niche products and Cemfree represented an opportunity to do both simultaneously. Supplying this product to the highest level of quality control is easy at our new state-of-the-art, high output, wet-batch concrete plants at Silvertown and at Wembley, where we have dedicated a silo at each site exclusively to Cemfree.”
Cemfree commercial manager Adam Gittins commented: “Cement alternatives have become the ‘holy grail’ in the quest to reduce the carbon expense of producing traditional cement – and while low-carbon technology is already here, the issue could come down to logistics, supply and quality control for contractors. Lately however, we’ve seen an unprecedented number of enquiries from both ready-mix concrete and volumetric suppliers who are keen to get Cemfree ‘on tap’, so there is now no reason not to routinely specify a lower carbon alternative for a build."
He added that Cemfree has already been used in some prominent construction projects.
