O’Rourke develops carbon eating cement

Aaron Morby 14 years ago
Share

Laing O’Rourke has pumped cash into Imperial College spin-out firm Novacem as part of a wider £1.6m fund-raising round.

It is the contractor’s second big investment in Novacem, which plans to produce a commercially available cement that absorbs carbon.

The so-called negative carbon cement is based on magnesium oxide and will give the concrete industry a scalable alternative to current carbon intensive production.

For every tonne of Portland cement replaced by Novacem cement, around 1 tonne of CO2 is captured and stored indefinitely.

Ray O’Rourke, Laing O’Rourke’s Chairman, said “Clients are seeking increasingly more viable and sustainable construction solutions, and the industry can no longer drag its heels on this issue.

“Good progress has been made over the last ten years, but much more needs to be done.

He added: “Although we recognise there is a limit to what is possible to improve the sustainability of conventional Portland cement, we are excited by the radical innovation being developed through our partnership with Novacem.

“I look forward to forging stronger working relationships with the company through this investment, and to delivering a viable carbon-negative Novacem product to use in our own projects,” added O’Rourke.

Novacem’s revolutionary cement binder uses a different chemistry and a new lower temperature manufacturing process, reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

The resulting cement hardens by absorbing large amounts of carbon dioxide effectively locking the greenhouse gas into construction materials.

Latest news

Breakthrough for HS2 as first Birmingham tunnel section dug

Balfour Beatty VINCI completes 3.5km TBM drive in 652 days drive
26 minutes ago

HS2 Curzon Street station redesign approved as timber roof axed

Change to meet stricter fire safety rules and cut maintenance costs
4 hours ago

Care home fire trial collapses

Prosecution withdrawn against four firms including Morgan Sindall Property Services
1 day ago

Leicester rebids £22m station revamp after failed tender race

Council opts for ECI route after receiving one bid for project
4 hours ago

Kier wins East Coast College rebuild job in Great Yarmouth

Work to start this summer for 1,300-student college
5 hours ago

R G Carter wins £28m hospital car park job in King’s Lynn

MSCP paves way for £1.5bn Queen Elizabeth Hospital rebuild in 2027
5 hours ago

London to relax green belt building rules

Sadiq Khan shifts position on planning
5 hours ago

Willmott Dixon wins Great Yarmouth waterfront deal

North Quay 10.5 acres mixed-use scheme to advance
1 day ago

SIG chief quits to join Travis Perkins

Gavin Slark to leave by the end of this year
5 hours ago

Eight take key spots on £250m Prosper framework

Housing and public building upkeep deal for North East awarded
1 day ago

Early call-out for £150m Ebbsfleet Garden City infrastructure

Bidders day to set out plan for Ebbsfleet Central commercial scheme
2 days ago

McLaren storms April contracts league with flurry of wins

Cardiff Bay Arena job headlines a series of big contract wins
1 day ago

Balfour Beatty lifts cash forecast after strong first quarter

Contractor set to hit £1bn average monthly net cash in 2025
1 day ago

Goldman Sachs-owned Adler & Allan buys 180-strong civils outfit

West Country's Glanville Environmental gets new owner
1 day ago

Caddick lands first contract for £200m Skelmersdale revamp

Developer gets green light for masterplan
1 day ago

Van Elle sells HGV fleet to haulage firm

WS Specialist Logistics pays £2.9m to take on fleet and drivers
1 day ago

Buyers more bullish about prospects for year ahead

Residential "resilient" but commercial work a weak spot
2 days ago

Council backs first Brutalist car park-to-flats scheme

Newcastle-under-Lyme multi-storey car park to be reborn as pioneering homes scheme
2 days ago

Hinkley Point C hits peak build with 26,000 jobs

3,000 more workers to join as fit-out work ramps up
2 days ago

Over 40 firms win Wessex Water M&E minor works deal

Broad sweep of specialists picked for AMP8 programme
2 days ago

Spencer lands Scottish bridge hat-trick

Steelwork, gantries and bearing upgrades on Kessock, Forth and Tay crossings
3 days ago

Winners revealed for £1.5bn decarbonisation deal

Fusion21 confirms places for 40 firms: Full list
2 days ago

Cladding firm fined £225,000 after fatal fall

Court hears how cherry picker didn't reach all parts of repair job
2 days ago

Completed buildings caught-up in Gateway 2 chaos

Developer distraught after dealing with Building Safety Regulator
3 days ago

Aviva submits plans for 34-storey City office tower

Subject to planning work to start in autumn 2027
3 days ago

Murphy takes 40% stake in Aussie civils contractor

Firm enters Australasian market with stake in Sydney-based contractor Abergeldie
4 days ago

Moat seeks firm for £420m repairs and maintenance deal

15-year deal to upkeep 20,000 south east homes
3 days ago

Lynch takes over hotel for Sizewell plant operators

Hire giant now in the hotel business to guarantee accommodation for workers
3 days ago

Subcontractors wanted across Scotland

Latest Constructionline event in Glasgow: Register now
3 days ago

Six guilty of £2m bribery over Devon housing site deals

Corrupt building bosses and E.ON project chief and QS sentenced
1 week ago

Contractor services