Climate Positive Concrete
Jason Saundalkar speaks to Green Valley Biochar’s Tolga Soytekin and Bton Group’s Thomas Demmel about their new partnership and decarbonising construction in the GCC with climate positive biochar concrete
The landmark Paris Agreement entered into force on the fourth of November 2016 and outlined a number of goals with regards to combating climate change, and accelerating and intensifying actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future.
Some of the key aspects of the agreement included strengthening the global response to climate change, with the goal of limiting global temperature increases to well below two degrees Celsius, while pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5-degrees Celsius. To achieve this goal, parties agreed to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) as soon as possible, with the understanding that peaking will take longer for developing countries, with the aim of achieving a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of GHGs in the second half of the century.
Since the Paris Agreement came into effect, significant progress has been made in terms of decarbonising industries and economies around the globe, however there’s plenty more than needs to be done as the world continues to warm. In early January 2024, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issues a statement confirming 2023 was the warmest year on record.
Post Paris Red Flags
Its statement on 12 January noted: earth’s average surface temperature in 2023 was the warmest on record, according to an analysis by NASA. Global temperatures last year were around 1.2-degrees Celsius above the average for NASA’s baseline period (1951-1980), scientists from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York reported.
It added: in 2023, hundreds of millions of people around the world experienced extreme heat, and each month from June through December set a global record for the respective month. July 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded. Overall, Earth was about 1.4 degrees Celsius warmer in 2023 than the late 19th-century average, when modern record-keeping began.
“NASA and NOAA’s global temperature report confirms what billions of people around the world experienced last year; we are facing a climate crisis. From extreme heat, to wildfires, to rising sea levels, we can see our Earth is changing,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
“The exceptional warming that we’re experiencing is not something we’ve seen before in human history. It’s driven primarily by our fossil fuel emissions, and we’re seeing the impacts in heat waves, intense rainfall, and coastal flooding,” remarked Gavin Schmidt, Director of GISS.
More recently, on 6 June 2024, Copernicus – the European Union’s Earth Observation Programme – announced that May 2024 marks 12 months of record-breaking global temperatures. Its press statement highlighted: May 2024 was warmer globally than any previous May in the ERA5 reanalysis dataset, going back to 1940, and was the twelfth month in a row that was the warmest in the ERA5 record for the respective month of the year. While unusual, we nevertheless saw a similar streak of monthly global temperature records in 2015/2016. Last month was 1.52-degrees Celsius above the estimated May average for the 1850-1900 pre-industrial reference period.”
Extreme Weather Events
As the climate changes, industry experts including those from NASA warn that the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are increasing, including heat extremes, wildfires, droughts, tropical cyclones, heavy precipitation, floods, high-tide flooding and marine heat waves. In the Middle East, and more specifically the UAE, on 16 April the country witnessed its heaviest rainfall on record, surpassing anything documented since the start of data collection in 1949 according to the National Centre of Meteorology. The downpour bought life to a standstill and caused significant damage to property and infrastructure.
In an interview with Khaleej Times, Dr. Diana Francis, Senior Research Scientist and Head of the Environmental and Geophysical Sciences (ENGEOS) Lab at Khalifa University said the UAE will experience more frequent extreme weather events in the future. She noted that due to global warming, the country will have increased rainfall in the spring, as well as hotter and longer summers.
She explained, “There has been indication in the recent reports of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that extreme weather events like heat waves or rainfall are going to be ‘more frequent’ and ‘more intense’ due to the increase in global temperature. This varies according to the region. It could be a heatwave in Asia for instance, or intense rainfall that we witnessed in the UAE.”
Taking all this information into account, it’s absolutely imperative that efforts be stepped up to prevent catastrophic climate change and the occurrence of extreme weather events. The built environment has a key role to play, as the sector is responsible for 37% of total carbon emissions globally, and involves several hard-to-abate sectors.
According to World Economic Forum and Boston Consulting Group, the green transition of the building value chain can unlock US $1.8tn in market opportunities globally, as well as significant social and environmental value. The WEF noted that to fully seize the opportunities presented by the green transition of the building sectors, stakeholders across the value chain should adopt a strategic and collaborative approach, especially around standard setting, flagship development, policy design and innovation.
One area of the sector that deserves significant focus is cement and concrete, which have a significant environmental footprint stemming from its manufacture and use in buildings and infrastructure. It’s estimated that 7.3bn cubic metres of concrete is used worldwide each year, and cement – the core material used to make concrete – is responsible for 9% of all CO2 emissions globally.
Tackling Concrete Emissions
Reducing the impact of this material on the environment is therefore crucial, and is the focus of a partnership that was announced in early July 2024 between Green Valley Biochar and Bton Group. The former company is a producer of biochar – a carbon sinking material traditionally used for soil enhancement – while the latter is a Germany-based technology-driven concrete company. The collaboration is said to represent a significant step towards sustainable construction in the GCC region.
The partnership between the two firms will see biochar being used in the production of concrete. The Bton Group is said to have developed technology that allows the use of biochar in concrete without any adverse effects. The firm said that the use of biochar actually enhances the durability of the concrete, and the resulting product is climate positive, achieving more than 100% CO2 savings.
Discussing the concrete industry and cement’s impact on the environment and the partnership with Bton Group, Tolga Soytekin, Co-Founder, Green Valley Biochar notes, “Concrete is used twice as much as any other construction material. Cement (the core ingredient within concrete) is responsible for 8% of global emissions and 90% of the emissions within concrete. As the global population is expected to rise to 10bn by 2060, there is a need to build at scale with a material that will not destroy the planet. This is why Green Valley Biochar and Bton Group’s partnership is so important. We can produce concrete which sinks more CO2 than is produced. In other words, the concrete produced as a result of our partnership is climate-positive.”
As per the terms of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the two firms, Green Valley Biochar will supply or manage pyrolysis plants for the production of biochar and secure the supply of biomass. The Bton Group will then utilise the biochar in concrete production. The partnership is expected to open a new market for Green Valley’s biochar and enable Bton Group to provide large-scale climate positive solutions to the region.
The partnership between the two firms is said to have been set in motion by an environmental solutions consultancy. Soytekin says, “Bton and Green Valley Biochar were introduced by Synova, an environmental solutions consultancy working closely with a major real estate developer in the UAE. Part of the developer’s mandate was for the use of locally sourced lightweight aggregates, hence the two companies were a perfect fit.”
Shedding light on some of the short- and long-term goals of the partnership, Soytekin states, “In the short term, we will immediately deliver solutions to clients fulfilling their needs for carbon-neutral concrete, thereby meeting their sustainability goals. In the long term, Green Valley and Bton will establish production facilities that include on-site pyrolysis plants for efficient manufacturing. Through ongoing discussions with developers, we expect there to be extremely large off-take demands, which will require establishing multiple production facilities.”
Soytekin says that in addition to the firm’s existing facility in Dubai, it will establish new facilities in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia. “These locations have been selected due to the vast amount of construction required in the coming years. There is a strong emphasis on decarbonising construction and reducing reliance on existing resources. The partnership between Green Valley and Bton not only allows for the decarbonisation of concrete, it also utilises non-traditional resources, enabling a more resilient supply chain and reducing the impact of the fluctuating material markets,” he outlined.
Thomas Demmel, CEO of Bton Group is positive about the impact of the partnership and sees significant opportunities in the region. He comments, “The combination of Green Valley Biochar and Bton’s technologies enables the production of a previously unattainable product: biochar concrete. Traditionally, when using more than 2% of biochar within concrete, the absorbent properties of biochar would lead to poor mixability, pourability, and strength in concrete. However, Bton’s technologies overcome this major challenge, allowing the seamless incorporation of biochar into concrete products. This innovation drives the sustainable concrete market forward, enabling developers to create truly sustainable buildings and infrastructure.”
Real World Benefits
Highlighting the production process for the carbon positive concrete and its benefits, Demmel outlines, “Within Bton’s concrete production process, CO2-reduced cement (low-clinker) is used, enabling a reduction of CO2 by 70%. Bton’s technologies allow for these cement to be used while achieving the same strengths and curing times as when using highly emitting Portland cement (high-clinker). This means that the concrete contains 70% less CO2 with the same performance and cost as traditional concrete. Additionally, Bton’s lower hydration temperature eliminates the need for additional cooling methods such as cold water or ice, saving time, money, and labour, particularly in hot climates like the UAE, where temperature control is crucial to avoid cracking.”
“The addition of Green Valley’s biochar is the key enabler to producing concrete with neutral or even negative CO2 emissions. Biochar is a carbon sink, with 1kg of biochar equating to 3kg of CO2e (depending on the feedstock) which when added to concrete, greatly reduces its carbon footprint. As well as biochar allowing for carbon-neutral and carbon-negative concretes, the additional carbon embedded into the concrete can also enhance the durability and strength of the concrete, leading to a product with specifications even better than those produced through traditional production methods.”
He emphasises, “The resulting product is concrete that absorbs more emissions than it produces, offering the same strength and durability (if not better) as traditional concrete. It boasts a superior finish and can be produced in all existing strength classes and for all existing applications.”
Soytekin adds, “It’s important to consider the type of biochar used in the cement mixture as all types of biomass can be converted to biochar, however, certain biomass used as a feedstock during the pyrolysis phase produces a lower carbon product. Green Valley exclusively used hardwood waste and creates biochar with 80-to-90% recalcitrant carbon content, making it ideal for use in industrial applications for maximum impact.”
Demmel is also quick to point out that compared to alternative low carbon concretes, biochar concrete does not come with additional costs. “Unlike other CO2-reduced concretes, the concrete produced as a result of the partnership between Green Valley and Bton does not come with a green premium—a large increase in price due to its sustainable and CO2 reduction characteristics. Instead, it is priced competitively against traditional concrete. It also meets all required norms and specifications, performing exactly as traditional concrete. This allows construction and development companies to use it as a direct replacement for their existing concrete. The product has undergone rigorous testing in both Europe and the Middle East and is held to the highest standards, having been independently verified.”
He adds, “Additionally, Bton produces biochar concrete in lightweight concrete classes. Bton’s innovative process allows for the production of concrete that is 40% lighter than regular concrete while maintaining the same compressive strength. This results in a concrete that is extremely resistant to natural disasters such as earthquakes while being simultaneously climate-positive.”
Here, Demmel states that biochar concrete also offers a number of benefits with regards to its mix and recycling. “Bton’s biochar concrete can incorporate large amounts of recycled concrete and materials within its mix designs. The biochar concrete produced by Bton is also fully recyclable in the same way as traditional concrete, enabling a truly circular production process.”
He summarises, “The groundbreaking partnership between Green Valley and Bton is poised to revolutionise the sustainable construction industry in the Middle East. The innovative biochar concrete is not only climate-positive but also competitively priced, making it an instant game-changer for any construction project.”
“The partnership will benefit the whole construction industry and allow for highly sustainable – in fact, carbon negative/climate positive and price competitive concrete/precast concrete elements. This collaboration, which has been propelled by one of the largest real estate developers in the UAE, is a landmark for technology-driven circular solutions in the GCC,” he concludes.
