The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) is issuing a rallying cry to start-ups from around the world to apply for the Innovandi Open Challenge and devise innovative and sustainable ways to lower CO2 emissions.
Now in its fourth year, the GCCA’s Open Innovandi Challenge uplifts the efforts of start-ups pioneering the development of cutting-edge materials instrumental in the decarbonisation of the concrete and cement industry, including low-carbon admixtures, supplementary cementitious materials, activators and binders.
Concrete is the second most used substance in the world after water and accounts for seven percent of the world’s CO2 emissions. Therefore, developing reliable and sustainable decarbonisation methods is imperative to safeguarding a resilient future.
The annual Open Innovandi Challenge reaffirms the GCCA’s Roadmap to reach net-zero emissions for the concrete and cement industry by 2050.
Opportunities for networking and knowledge sharing
The GCCA underscores the critical importance of ingenuity in decreasing the amount of clinker used in concrete and cement production and subsequently slashing CO2 emissions.
The association’s chief executive Thomas Guillot celebrates the impressive feats of start-ups involved in previous Open Innovandi Challenges. “Start-ups can bring in even newer ideas and further accelerate our industry’s push,” he says.
“Advanced production methods which are decarbonising our sector are already being used in cement and concrete production in many parts of the world.”
Zurich-based chemical engineering company Unisieve illustrates the networking opportunities and increased platforming offered by the Open Innovandi Challenge. The company’s chief commercial officer Hagen Rockmann speaks of the rewarding challenge experience.
“We have had loads of discussions with customers from the concrete and cement industry about our molecular seeding membranes and what they can do for points towards carbon capture to decarbonise concrete and cement industry production,” he says.
CarbonQuest CEO Shane Johnson echoes Rockmann’s praise for the challenge’s networking opportunities. “We’re working with a number of different industrial segments to demonstrate how onsite, modular-based carbon capture can scale to immediately help avoid the direct emission sources and make a big impact in the battle for climate change,” he says.
Similarly, Ardent’s carbon solutions vice president Nic Renard emphasises the unmissable opportunity to connect with industry leaders afforded by the challenge.
“We saw Innovandi Open Challenge as an unparalleled opportunity to connect with top cement players across the world and get face-to-face conversations that will enable us to develop a solution that is perfectly suited to those specific customers.”
Interested start-ups are encouraged to apply and take part in the Innovandi Open Challenge by visiting the GCCA Open Challenge 4.
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