Tuesday 11th March 2025: Sisk has successfully completed testing of a new low-carbon technology to decarbonise concrete at its Wembley Park project site in London. Initial test results demonstrate over 70 percent of carbon savings compared to standard concrete.
The low-carbon demonstrator project received £500,000 from Innovate UK funding as part of its Contracts for Innovation to pioneer the use of ACT, Ecocem’s low-carbon concrete technology in a structure, which is the first of its kind.
The demonstrator project was based at NE02/NE03, Wembley Park, where Sisk has been working on the redevelopment of Wembley Park for its long-term client, Quintain for the past 20 years. Sisk gathered with each of its consortium partners for an event hosted at Wembley Park to discuss its findings.
The two-storey project used a range of different construction methodologies and concrete mixes all based on ACT. From floors to precast concrete stairs, columns and walls, the initial feedback on the performance of each element is very promising. In each case the concrete made with ACT met the design specification for each application assessed and delivered a significant carbon saving of over 70 percent.
Ecocem recently announced that it has begun construction on its first production facility dedicated to ACT at its Dunkirk facility in Northern France, where it will invest over £42M (€50M). The new facility will have an initial capacity to deliver 300,000 tonnes of ACT annually.
This innovation will revolutionise low-carbon cement commercial viability within the construction sector. ACT, is a breakthrough cement technology which combines a range of technical innovations with the use of widely available low-carbon materials to decarbonise the production of cement by as much as 70 percent, while enhancing the strength and durability of the concrete it is used to manufacture.
The scalable low-carbon demonstrator project featured a consortium of leading experts including, Sisk, Ecocem, Ramboll, Loughborough University, Creagh Concrete, Capital Concrete and BRE Group. Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation, creating a better future by inspiring, involving and investing in businesses developing life-changing innovations.
Ross Cullen, Chief Engineer, Sisk said: “At Sisk, we have been committed to sustainability for many years. Our low-carbon concrete journey began with the establishment of various strategies aimed at reducing our environmental impact. One of the key initiatives was the creation of an internal low-carbon concrete working group. This was formed to deepen our understanding of carbon in concrete and to explore opportunities and technologies that can help us reduce the embodied carbon in our projects.
He added: “The construction industry has a profound responsibility to reduce our climate impact. As one of the largest contributors to global carbon emissions, it is imperative that we take significant steps towards sustainability. The development of low-carbon concrete is a tremendous leap forward in this endeavour. This innovation not only reduces our carbon footprint but also sets a new standard for environmentally responsible construction practices.”
John Reddy, Director of Concrete Technology Deployment, Ecocem said: “This low-carbon demonstration project at Wembley delivered with Sisk and supported by Innovate UK, is a significant milestone. The project used a range of different construction methodologies and concrete mixes all based on ACT and experience during the construction phase indicates that it behaves and performs as you would expect concrete to – with one significant difference – it can deliver a carbon saving of over 70%.
“Ecocem has been testing and trialling ACT, our low-carbon cement technology for the last 12 months in a range of onsite applications and early test results on this demonstrator are in line with our previous experience. For each application it delivers the required performance in terms of workability, durability, and early age strength. We need now to change concrete standards so that low-carbon solutions like ACT can be adopted for construction use and deliver significant carbon reduction at speed”
Dr Stafford Lloyd, Innovate UK said: “Concrete production currently makes up almost 8% of global carbon emissions. The results we are seeing from this ACT project demonstrate the value of supporting these types of projects to accelerate carbon reduction in a challenging sector. Innovate UK’s Advanced Market Commitment (AMC) is also aiming to provide firm demand signals to shape a credible pathway for scaling the production and use of low-carbon concrete, providing expert insight and guidance to unlock fresh investment into innovative low-carbon concrete and cement products.”
Contact
Barry Ryan,
Senior External Communications Officer, Sisk
Telephone: 00 353 87 380 0578
Email: [email protected]
Editor’s Notes:
Cement is responsible for almost 8% of global emissions, producing 2.5 billion tonnes of CO2 every year.
ACT Concrete performance
Innovate UK will make a detailed report on concrete performance in the demonstrator performance available later in the year. Initial feedback on the range of elements is very promising. In each case the concrete made with ACT meets the design specification for each application tested.
About Sisk
Sisk is an innovative, international construction and engineering business with a long-term vision. Sisk employs over 2,500 people and is Ireland’s leading provider of construction services with extensive operations across Ireland, the United Kingdom and mainland Europe with the track record, scale and capacity to successfully undertake large, complex multidisciplinary programmes. Sisk is recognised by global clients as a world leader in safe delivery.
Sisk delivers projects in sectors such as Data and Technology, Semiconductors, Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences, Infrastructure, Transportation, Healthcare, Commercial, Residential, Retail, Industrial, Leisure, Education and Energy.
Sisk offers a life-cycle approach to construction from planning and offsite construction, through delivering and fitting out a project safely and sustainably with technology as a key enabler and then working with clients to help manage and maintain buildings efficiently throughout their lifespan.
Our purpose is to create places for future generations. We take inspiration from our founder John Sisk, who was driven by a keen sense of public service through the early projects that were delivered by the business – schools, libraries, churches etc. Throughout our history, we have created legacies within the communities where we work, instilled by our core values of Care, Integrity and Excellence.
We have been in existence for over 165 years, and we want to continue to have a positive impact on future generations to come.
About Innovate UK
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is the UK’s innovation agency. It works to create a better future by inspiring, involving and investing in businesses developing life-changing innovations. Its mission is to help companies to grow through their development and commercialisation of new products, processes and services, supported by an outstanding innovation ecosystem that is agile, inclusive and easy to navigate.
About Ecocem
Ecocem is a pioneer of high-performance low-carbon cement technology that significantly reduces CO2 emissions in the cement and construction industries. Its breakthrough technology, ACT can reduce the global carbon footprint of the traditional cement manufacturing process by more than half.
For more than 20 years, Ecocem has been developing, manufacturing, and supplying low-carbon cement and construction solutions to markets in Europe. It operates from plants in France (2), the Netherlands and Ireland with an annual production of over 2 million tonnes of low-carbon cements.
From Le Grand Paris Express to Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, and the UK’s high-speed railway HS2, Ecocem has achieved a cumulative reduction to date of almost 18 million tonnes CO2 emissions. It would take over 800 million trees to capture this amount of CO2 in a year.
Investors in Ecocem include Saint-Gobain Group, a global leader in light sustainable construction, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Ecocem also counts ArcelorMittal, the world’s leading steel and mining company, is a major shareholder in its Ecocem France subsidiary.
An independent company with a world-class innovation centre, Ecocem technology, products, and services can help the cement industry cost-effectively decarbonise by 50 percent by 2030 – and build a more sustainable future for all.
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