The tech tackling the environmental cost of government housing targets – UKTN

In the Spring Statement, Rachel Reeves announced that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had concluded the Government’s planning reforms and will help build over 1.3 million homes in the next five years. The reforms are expected to drive housebuilding to a 40-year high, with 305,000 homes built annually by the end of the forecast period, taking the government closer to its manifesto pledge to deliver 1.5 million homes by 2029.

While this ambitious target is positive and should be welcomed, it raises significant questions about the environmental impact of such large-scale construction. The built environment is a major contributor to carbon emissions, with the construction sector accounting for approximately 14% of the UK’s total emissions.

While stone bricks might offer a more sustainable alternative to clay bricks, our attention is in the wrong place. Cement and concrete are two of the most commonly used and safest building materials globally, but they also carry the heaviest environmental footprint. The government’s challenge lies in balancing the urgent need for new homes with its commitment to achieving net-zero by 2050.

The cement industry alone produces 3 billion tonnes of CO2, which it does not know what to do with. As such, many cement manufacturers have started to look at carbon capture and geological storage, but this approach is expensive and does not eliminate emissions entirely. However, an interesting fact that not many people know is that concrete can naturally absorb minimal amounts of CO2 over hundreds of years. What would happen if we found a way to scale this natural phenomenon?

CO2 mineralisation is attempting to do just that. CO2 is captured from the carbon emissions from cement production and the CO2 is then mixed into freshly made concrete, enhancing its strength and reducing the amount of cement needed. Cement is the binder, (i.e. the glue) in concrete. It is the cement in which CO2 reacts and is permanently locked away. Even if concrete is demolished, the CO2 does not leak, as the CO2 is chemically bonded into the cement.

This technology could be a true, near-term game-changer for the built environment. Our pilots with Europe’s largest precast concrete manufacturer, Goldbeck, have proven to reduce emissions from concrete by 23% while increasing its strength by 20%. This improved strength also means the amount of cement required for a given strength of concrete is less, therefore lowering production costs. The end product is a greener, cheaper, and stronger concrete.

Perhaps most importantly, it doesn’t require any change to production lines, turning an emissions problem into an emissions solution. Many of the solutions being developed to make our built environment less carbon-intensive are still 15-20 years away from commercialisation. Rather than ripping up the established playbook entirely, CO2 mineralisation offers a fast and realistic route to decarbonise the construction industry without slowing it down.

The government’s housebuilding targets are commendable, but solving one societal problem shouldn’t come at the cost of exacerbating another. AI innovation has been placed at the forefront of Labour’s plans to boost productivity and growth. But there are other areas of deeptech which can help us achieve these goals while also paving the way to net-zero targets, and these shouldn’t be left by the wayside. We need a multifaceted approach with innovation, investment, and favourable policies all working together to build a better future economically and environmentally.

Sid Pourfalah is CEO and co-founder of Concrete4Change

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