Katie Wills, Cemfree, explores the changes that need to be made to construction industry standards to support the widespread use of AACMs.
There is no denying the versatility of cement. Yet with growing concerns over its impact on CO2e emissions, the construction industry should now be looking for more eco-friendly options.
Pioneering technologies that promise to decrease the construction industry’s carbon footprint are already in progress, such as carbon capture, usage, and storage (CCUS). Whilst these future technologies are pioneering, they are still in their infancy and any benefit is unlikely to be realised for many years, and will require huge amounts of capital investment.
The alkali-activated cementitious materials (AACMs) family of cement alternatives provide a solution to the challenges the industry faces. These products represent an ultra-lowcarbon option for construction, and critically, they are available right now.
Slow-moving industry standards currently stand in the way of widespread AACM adoption, leaving a largely untapped potential. What can be done to change this?