Cement Concrete and Aggregates Australia (CCAA) has welcomed the latest round of project announcements from the SmartCrete Cooperative Research Centre (SmartCrete CRC) to develop low carbon cement and concrete solutions.
CCAA is a core industry partner of the SmartCrete CRC, which was established to facilitate research into improvements in the cost, productivity, and sustainability of concrete.
After a somewhat slow start, eight new projects have been initiated by the CRC that will support a more efficient and sustainable cement and concrete industry. The development of the report, Decarbonisation Pathways for the Australian Cement and Concrete Sector, was one of the first projects. This report is the foundation document for our industry to achieve its ambition to deliver net zero carbon cement and concrete to Australian society by 2050.
Another project from the latest round aims to establish a framework for the use of optimum low carbon concrete based on existing Transport for NSW (TfNSW) specifications. The scope of this project includes assessing the viability of new and innovative low carbon concrete systems in the framework.
The ‘Selecting Low Carbon Concrete for transport infrastructures - Now and future’ project has been promoted by TfNSW and CCAA as an important step in the acceptance of reducing embodied carbon in our transport infrastructure.
CCAA chief executive officer Ken Slattery says CCAA looks forward to working with TfNSW and the University of Technology Sydney on the exciting and timely initiative.
“Australia’s transport infrastructure sector has long been very conservative when it comes to concrete technology and emissions reduction, so this initiative, supported by the SmartCrete CRC is an important step in support of our industry’s decarbonation objectives,” he says.
"The Australian cement and concrete industry’s ‘decarbonisation journey’ isn’t new, having already reduced CO2 emissions by 25 percent since 2000.
“But the industry recognises that much more needs to be done, including significant regulatory, structural, and behavioural changes across all parts of the cement and concrete value chain. It is reassuring that our industry is supported by a partner such as the SmartCrete CRC to assist in that journey.”
