Belite-Ye’elimite-Ferrite (BYF)-type binders are based on novel clinkers with significantly lower carbon footprints than OPC.
The background knowledge enabling the full potential of ECO-Binder innovation originates from previous research work carried out about BYF-type binders by three leading EU cement companies Heidelberg Cement, LafargeHolcim and VICAT. These companies are applicant in more than 500 patents concerning new cements and concrete mixes.
BYF-based concretes harden more rapidly than conventional OPC concretes without the need for thermal curing procedures. In addition to saving energy, this means that equivalent concrete products made with BYF cements can be demoulded and handled earlier. Alternatively, the higher early strengths can be used to allow thinner concrete layers to be produced more easily, which in turn can allow a greater thickness of insulating material in the same overall volume.
These benefits can be used to enable the production of novel prefabricated insulating products with improved insulation performance and decreased carbon footprint and embodied energy, coupled with significant materials and costs savings.
In order to provide highest performances in the required areas for the building panels, functional materials with thermal-acoustic, fire resistance, contaminant absorption properties (fillers, coatings, panels, ...) were embedded in an innovative finishing material.
In this respect, the project has a number of key strategic research and technological innovative steps which will have strategic impacts and lead to a step change improvement in the competitiveness of a resource intensive and high GHG emissions contributing sector, servicing a stock of 210 million existing buildings across the EU:
• By using the new knowledge generated, the project will develop sustainable, innovative energy efficient concrete with reduced embodied energy (-30%) using novel low cost/high volume sustainable processes (15% cost reduction compared to existing solutions), thereby addressing the zero-carbon drivers of the EU Construction and Modern Buildings sector – Economic innovation;
• The increased competitiveness of EU Enterprises, large and SME participants, through increased transnational R&D collaboration will lead to an estimated 1 to 4 MEuro business opportunities in the medium term for project partners through exploitation of the concept solutions post project – Economic Innovation;
• The project will provide significant reductions in EU energy consumption (20% improved thermal insulation properties) and GHG emissions in the Retrofitting and “Green” Construction sector, giving clean affordable and societal benefits to EU citizens – Environmental Innovation;
• The project will contribute innovative solutions in concrete production and envelope components when compared to state of the art OPC based systems, including better air tightness and higher levels of fire resistance, durability and indoor air quality – Technological Innovation.
