CARBCOMN - Green paper

Green Paper on Compression Dominant Carbon Curing Concrete Structures 2 © 30/09/2025, “Green Paper on Compression Dominant Carbon Curing Concrete Structures” Edited by Kim Van Tittelboom and Stijn Matthys 10.5281/zenodo.17277986 This green paper is co-authored by the partners of the EU project CARBCOMN. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish proper information, but the authors and editors cannot assume responsibility for the validity and accuracy of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors and editors have attempted to avoid any copyright material or have get permission of the copyright holders, and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged please contact us via the CARBCOMN website (https://carbcomn.ugent.be/) so that we may rectify in any future version. Referenced figures or tables remain subject to copyright provisions associated to the copyright holders and are not licensed under this work. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). The policy of this license is specified at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101161535. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (ISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. 3 Table of Content 1 Executive Summary ......................................................................................................... 4 2 This Green Paper ............................................................................................................. 4 2.1 Setting the scene ..................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Ambition of this Green Paper .................................................................................... 6 2.3 The CARBCOMN technology explained ..................................................................... 6 2.4 The CARBCOMN project ........................................................................................... 8 3 Vision .............................................................................................................................. 9 3.1 Is carbon-negative concrete possible? ...................................................................... 9 3.2 How to reduce material consumption? ................................................................... 10 3.3 Are unreinforced compression dominant structures the future? ............................... 11 3.4 Why is the CARBCOMN technology disruptive compared to current practice? .......... 12 4 Triggering debate on the CARBCOMN technology ............................................................ 13 5 Need for Compression Dominant Carbon Curing Concrete Structures ............................. 14 5.1 Economic impact ................................................................................................... 14 5.2 Social and environmental impact ........................................................................... 15 5.3 Policy and Regulatory Considerations ..................................................................... 16 6 Call for action ................................................................................................................ 17 7 References .................................................................................................................... 17 4 Green Paper on Compression Dominant Carbon Curing Concrete Structures 1 Executive Summary The impact of climate change is becoming increasingly apparent, and so the construction sector cannot afford to lag behind in implementing adjustments through innovative technologies. The innovation we want to put forward in this paper is the development of compression dominant carbon curing concrete structures. We will first outline the current bottlenecks within the concrete construction sector and elucidate the highlighted technology. We will then share our vision on how this innovative technology, which is also the focus of the ongoing CARBCOMN project, can contribute towards a greener construction sector and why we are convinced that compression dominant carbon curing concrete structures will enable a breakthrough. With this Green Paper, we aim not only to inform the reader but also to encourage critical reflection. To this end, we have made several statements and would like to hear your opinion on them via an online form. This will enable us to incorporate your feedback into our further developments within the CARBCOMN project. Towards the end of the project, we intend to publish an updated version of this Green Paper reflecting on how your feedback influenced our research goals. 2 This Green Paper 2.1 Setting the scene Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from material extraction, manufacturing of construction products, as well as construction and renovation of buildings are estimated at 5-12% of total national GHG emissions [1]. When comparing different construction materials, the environmental footprint of concrete per material unit volume is amongst the best [2]. However, being used that widely all over the world, concrete is one of the most relevant construction materials in terms of carbon footprint and raw material usage [3]. The cement and concrete industry was the first sector to monitor and publish its CO2 emissions [4]. These numbers immediately proved that huge amounts of GHG are emitted during concrete production, mainly because of the high calcination temperatures needed to produce clinker (about 40%) and to decarbonize limestone (about 60%) (see Figure 1). Electricity used by the sector contributes further to CO2 emissions. 5 Figure 1. Cement manufacturing process and related CO2 emissions [5]. In total, cement manufacturing amounts to about 8% of global CO2 emissions [6]. Also, 1m³ of concrete requires 2,6 tons of construction materials, so that concrete construction accounts for about 50% of all material extracted for [7]. The upside of these observations is that when improving the environmental impact of concrete, significant gains can be made in terms of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and using less primary raw materials [2]. Because of this, climate-neutral concretes and applications are a global research theme of high interest. Over the past three decades, the cement and concrete industry has made some initial progress and reduced its emissions proportionately by around a fifth, predominantly by clinker substitution and fuel side measures [4] (Figure 2.A). However, during the current decade, we definitely need to accelerate our CO2 reductions in the concrete construction sector (i) through lowered emissions upon clinker production by alternative fuel use, (ii) by savings in cement and binders through alternatives to Portland clinker cement, (iii) by optimisation of concrete production in terms of binder utilisation, (iv) through decarbonisation of electricity, (v) through natural uptake of CO2 by concrete, also called recarbonation, (vi) by more efficient design and construction and (vii) through the currently less significant, being a new lever, carbon capture, utilization and storage [4]. However, none of the currently used concepts result in a full net-zero-carbon impact, because they bring partial and mostly fragmented solutions that cannot stand up to the technical demands of Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC). Moreover, as could be seen in Figure 2.B, the potential contribution of ‘Efficiency in design & construction’ and ‘Carbon capture and utilisation/storage (CCUS)’ to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 is very significant and should deserve more attention. We should therefore invest now in these required breakthrough technologies and innovations, to further reduce CO2 emissions in the next decades. Focusing on compression dominant carbon curing concrete structures, being the main topic of this Green Paper, is thus of utmost importance. 6 A B Figure 2. (A) Path towards net-zero CO2 emissions [4] (B) Getting towards a net zero concrete construction sector [8]. 2.2 Ambition of this Green Paper The intention of this Green Paper is to stimulate discussion on the topic of compression dominant carbon curing concrete structures as one of the key pathways to move towards a net zero concrete construction sector. The objective is not only to communicate towards, but also to consult potential stakeholders to identify key concerns, incorporate diverse perspectives and create consensus on prior research goals. In addition, reaching out to potential stakeholders now, the moment we need to put more focus on ‘Efficiency in design & construction’ through compression dominant structures and ‘Carbon capture and utilisation/storage (CCUS)’ through carbon curing concrete structures, is deemed to be very beneficial in order to identify opportunities for innovation, risk mitigation and value creation. 2.3 The CARBCOMN technology explained Carbon-negative or nearly carbon-negative technologies play a crucial role in mitigating climate change by their ambition in removing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they release. These technologies are essential to achieve net-zero emissions and to limit global warming. They encompass a range of approaches, including both nature-based solutions and engineered solutions. To end up with a net-zero CO2 emission by 2050 in the cement and concrete construction sector, as highlighted in Section 2.1, more focus needs to be put on the investment in technologies and innovations related to ‘Efficiency in design & construction’ and ‘Carbon capture and utilisation/storage (CCUS)’. An interesting breakthrough solution we want to put forward and discuss in this Green Paper is the development of compression dominant carbon curing concrete structures, which is also the focus of the recently initiated research initiative CARBCOMN. In this EIC (European Innovation Council) Pathfinder project [9], compression dominant structures are an excellent example of design efficiency and carbon curing of concrete is ideally conceived as an ultra-low-carbon technology, as carbon sequestration is used to harden the concrete. 7 SOME KEY TERMS EXPLAINED (part 1) Compression dominant structures are a broad classification, encompassing essentially any load bearing structural system that induces a compression dominant stress state via simple (e.g. column) or more complex funicular (e.g. arches, domes) geometries or through combination with normal forces naturally present (e.g. dead loads) or additionally introduced via prestressing (e.g. preor post-tensioning). The latter could be obtained using traditional prestressing techniques or using shape memory alloys. Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are metallic alloys that can be deformed at one temperature and then return to their original shape when heated. Carbon sequestration or carbon mineralization is the chemical reaction which occurs when a carbonatable mineral powder is exposed to carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide becomes a solid material. Applied to concrete, the term carbon curing concrete is used when CO2 (potentially captured during cement production) is injected into the concrete to accelerate the curing process and ‘lock-in’ CO2 into the end product. In that way, the latter becomes carbon-negative or decarbonized. Current low-carbon cement technologies can sequester up to 5% of CO2, with the potential of 30%. The CARBCOMN technology (Figure 3) focuses on the development of an ultra-low-carbon concrete mixture, based on carbon curing, suitable for processing with extrusion-based additive manufacturing or 3D printing and relying on only secondary raw materials to produce discrete blocks out of it and assembling them in innovative structural systems consisting of compression dominant members. Carbon cured concrete is less compatible with traditional steel reinforcement, as it does not have the necessary alkalinity to passivate the steel reinforcement in the concrete. By applying compression dominant structures, either by using funicular shapes (compression-only structural forms) or by installing unbonded post-tensioning, this drawback can be avoided. By segmenting the compression dominant structure, it can be constructed using 3D printed concrete blocks with shapes optimized for design flexibility and efficient material use. This also enables the application of the blocks in structures designed to be deconstructed at the end of their life cycle. Figure 3. Envisioning decarbonized and deconstructable compression dominant structures through robust design-tofabrication digital pipeline. 8 To handle the complex geometries and foster the design and production processes, an innovative digital pipeline (Figure 3) will be developed to define the reactivity of the binders, unravel the microstructure development and related porosity through computed tomography, decide on the structural design through topology optimization and slice the obtained geometries into multiple layers so an optimal print path can be defined. Next to all the latter, also the assembly process, the design for circularity and deconstruction will be digitized together with the life-cycle assessment. SOME KEY TERMS EXPLAINED (part 2) Circularity and deconstructability are core principles in sustainable construction, promoting resource efficiency and waste reduction. Circularity focuses on keeping materials in use at their highest value for as long as possible, while deconstructability (or design for deconstruction) involves designing buildings with the intent of easy disassembly for material reuse. These principles are crucial for minimizing environmental impact and maximizing resource utilization in the built environment. Extrusion-based additive manufacturing or 3D printing of concrete is an advanced digital construction technology that automates layer-by-layer extrusion of concrete, enabling precise, scalable, and waste-efficient building solutions. Topology optimization is a mathematical method that algorithmically determines the most efficient material distribution within a given design space for a given set of loads, boundary conditions and constraints to achieve a specific goal, such as maximizing stiffness or minimizing weight. This iterative process removes material from areas that do not bear significant loads, resulting in an optimized and often complex final geometry that meets performance requirements. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a comprehensive methodology that evaluates the environmental impacts of a product, process, or service throughout its entire life cycle, from raw material extraction to disposal. It involves defining the study's goal, quantifying inputs and outputs (like energy, materials, and emissions) in the inventory analysis, assessing the potential environmental impacts in the impact assessment phase, and interpreting these results to make informed decisions and improvements. The goal is to identify environmental "hot spots" and guide eco-design for reduced environmental footprints. A digital twin is set of adaptive models that emulate the behaviour of a physical system in a virtual system getting real time data to update itself along its life cycle. The digital twin replicates the physical system to predict failures and opportunities for changing, to prescribe real time actions for optimizing and/or mitigating unexpected events observing and evaluating the operating profile system [10]. 2.4 The CARBCOMN project Developing the CARBCOMN technology will be the main priority of the CARBCOMN project ‘Carbon-negative compression dominant structures for decarbonized and deconstructable concrete buildings’ in the coming years. The CARBCOMN project is a research initiative launched under the Horizon Europe EIC (European Innovation Council) Pathfinder challenge ‘Digitalization for a Novel Triad of Design, Fabrication, and Materials’. CARBCOMN contributes to this challenge by developing innovative 3D printed ultra-low-carbon concrete and segmental construction practices that align with global sustainability goals (see Figure 2.B and the technology explanation in Section 2.3). 9 The project will do this by combining (i) carbon-negative concrete through carbon mineralisation, (ii) zero primary raw materials for making the concrete, (iii) compression dominant structures that are immune for rebar corrosion and become intrinsically more durable, (iv) extrusion-based 3D printing of geometrical shapes that drastically reduce material consumption, (v) discretised blocks that allow deconstruction and reuse of entire structures, (vi) shape memory alloys to improve system redundancy, and (vii) life cycle assessment (LCA) integration in form optimised structural designs of these decarbonised and deconstructable concrete load-bearing elements. This combination of features requires a new digital AEC design paradigm as it cannot be achieved with the current design and fabrication methodologies for reinforced and prestressed concrete structures. To realize all these ambitions, CARBCOMN brings together a consortium of 5 leading research institutions (Ghent University, Technical University Darmstadt, University of Patras, ETH Zürich, EMPA) and 6 industry partners (TESIS, Orbix, incremental3d, Mario Cucinella Architects, re-fer and Zaha Hadid Architects) across Europe. CARBCOMN directly tackles the main objective of the AEC challenge, by providing professionals and industry with a novel digitally driven and LCA supported design-to-fabrication technique for load-bearing concrete structures to reduce the GHG emissions related to the construction sector, in an unprecedented way. More specifically, a new construction system is formulated, which is based on advanced fabrication of carbon-negative materials to achieve at least carbon-neutral conditions at the construction level, to allow the AEC to adopt a decarbonized and deconstructable system instead of the traditional cast-in-situ moment-resisting frame system currently mainstream in the field of reinforced concrete construction. 3 Vision The CARBCOMN concept implies a radical change in how constructions are built. A mindset ‘strength through geometry’ is put forward, compared to current design practices in reinforced concrete that are more material driven. Recollecting shapes and experiences from the past architectural knowledge, it relies on the use of modern digital fabrication tools and computational design platforms to realise structures which: are made of a carbon-negative material, employ the minimal quantity of materials and are constructed by using dry-joint unreinforced blocks assembled into deconstructable compression dominant structures. CARBCOMN is unique in combining these 3 aspects, to drastically lower the global warming potential. 3.1 Is carbon-negative concrete possible? One solution to obtain carbon-negative concrete is through carbon mineralisation, the technology which is also applied within CARBCOMN. This technology is based on the application of a Portland cement free mixture of carbonatable secondary raw materials, such as fine powder of stainless-steel slags, that is cured through exposure to CO2 in a carbonation curing chamber [11– 14]. Although these materials are nowadays introduced on the market [15], they can be only used for producing simple applications, such as paver blocks [16] or hollow bricks in artificial masonry 16 • Using discrete blocks that can be disassembled, allowing to enable products that are repairable, recyclable, and reusable for a longer lifespan. • Employable for replacing, renovating and reusing the existing built stock, an important step towards more renovated and energy-efficient buildings will be taken. • The development aligns with the strategic visions of industry, who are actively committed to advancing a greener and more circular construction sector. As the proposed technological solution is significantly driven by digital methodologies, which open the construction sector, this will result in more future-proof jobs. Where jobs in construction are often restricted to male workers, digitalization in construction appeals to highly qualified jobs, also for women, that will be fully inclusive. Impact also extends to the New European Bauhaus objectives because this newly proposed construction system is (i) enriching, as the mostly organic shapes of compression dominant structures will recall art and culture; (ii) sustainable, because at least a carbon-neutral construction system is targeted that further facilitates circularity through reuse; and (iii) inclusive, as the research endeavour has to be imprinted to a constructive exchange across disciplines (spanning from materials technology, over architectural design to civil engineering, also including environmental engineering, computer science and robotics). 5.3 Policy and Regulatory Considerations The proposed solution will be consistently conceived within the standards currently in force for concrete construction in Europe [34]. Although a complete standardization of the research outcome cannot be obtained at this phase of its development, preliminary activities such as interactions with standardization and certification entities are planned to be started near the end of the project implementation. In addition, the basis will also be set for the European Technical Assessment (ETA) of the newly developed carbon-negative concrete-like material [35]. The adoption of new construction materials is often hampered by the conservativeness and risk adverseness of the construction sector. Moreover, adoption of sustainable practices remains limited because of the lack of demand for green construction and insufficient government pressure. This Green Paper is an initiative to increase the awareness and education among the public and private sectors about the benefits of green construction and as such facilitate adoption by the AEC sector. It is further intended to foster an active dialogue with AEC companies and to seek for their feedback to identify key concerns, incorporate diverse perspectives and create consensus on prior project goals. Resulting, near the end of the project an updated Green Paper will be launched where, furthermore, the possibility of replacing the purchase logic with rental ones will be evaluated, hypothesizing the implementation of a business model ‘Structureas-a-service". Through the establishment of a matrix of application scenarios, comprehensive design solutions will be made clear, that define the integration modalities between compression dominant carbon curing concrete components and the various building systems required to meet high standards of energy efficiency, thermal performance, and architectural quality. These solutions will be 17 analysed in relation to existing regulatory frameworks, enabling alignment with EU directives on sustainable construction, energy performance of buildings, and circular economy principles. This analysis will also identify relevant building typologies, intended uses, and the corresponding stakeholders and beneficiaries - facilitating targeted policy support, regulatory adaptation, and market uptake of the developed technologies. 6 Call for action This Green Paper was compiled at the start of the CARBCOMN project to disseminate the objectives of the consortium to the wider community and to ask for feedback on our intentions. The aim is that we could take this feedback into account when setting our priority research lines and looking ahead toward implementation of the CARBCOMN technology into practice. 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