After a successful pilot phase, Air Liquide has renewed its partnership with Solidia Technologies, a developer of solutions to reduce the environmental footprint of precast concrete manufacturing.
During the pilot phase initiated in 2016, a joint team of Air Liquide and Solidia Technologies experts has industrialized Solidia Concrete, which uses carbon dioxide (CO2) to cure concrete. The combination of the consumption of CO2 during curing, and lowered carbon emissions achieved in the production of low-energy Solidia Cement that is used to bind the concrete, results in an up to 70% reduced carbon footprint compared to traditional concrete.
As part of this worldwide partnership, Air Liquide is Solidia’s preferred supplier of CO2 and the equipment used for its injection. In the United States, where sales of Solidia Concrete have been launched, Airgas, an Air Liquide company, supplies the carbon dioxide recovered and purified from CO2 emitted by other industries.
Matthieu Giard, Vice President and Executive Committee Member of Air Liquide Group, supervising the Industrial Merchant business line commented: “We are pleased with our collaboration with Solidia Technologies. Based on an innovative use of CO2, this technology represents a particularly interesting solution to reduce the carbon footprint of precast concrete. This partnership is totally in line with our Climate objectives which are the most ambitious of our sector. It is also characteristic of our approach: to reach our Climate objectives, we work on our own assets, we develop solutions for our clients and we also adopt a strategy to partner with ecosystems so as to extend and amplify the impact of our actions in favor of the environment.”
Tom Schuler, President and CEO of Solidia Technologies, added: “Air Liquide’s expertise has been a critical element in the development of our CO2 curing technology and the delivery of higher performance, lower environmental footprint concrete. We look forward to our continued collaboration with Air Liquide as we work to develop new products, enter additional markets, and offer new sustainable solutions for the entire $1 trillion global concrete market.”
By Mary Page Bailey
Source: Chemical Engineering
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