Solidia gets further research funding

The next phase of a four-year research and development project supporting the commercialization of Solidia Technol-ogies’ carbon dioxide-reducing cement and concrete processes will commence with the commitment of an additional 752 000 US$ from the US Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). The project entitled “Utilization of CO₂ in High Performance Building and Infrastructure Products” is co-funded by NETL through its “Carbon Storage Technology” program, and by Solidia Technologies.

The overall goal is to use an alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) to produce a CO₂-cured concrete. The alternative cement, named Solidia Cement^TM, is a synthesized alkali-earth compound that can be fabricated from the same raw materials and in the same kilns as OPC, albeit with lower energy consumption and reduced CO₂ emissions. The CO₂-cured concrete, named Solidia Concrete^TM, offers improved mechanical properties and durability while allowing for the safe and effective storage of CO₂ in construction materials.

Since its inception, the project has ­focused on the development and optimization of Solidia’s proprietary CO₂-curing process. Now, the project will focus on demonstrating these CO₂ reduction and storage capabilities on a prototype scale in a commercial concrete plant. The new research objectives, designed to help advance the technology towards commercialization, include:

The demonstration of the basic performance of Solidia Cement produced at a commercial cement plant;

The demonstration of the utility of this cement in at least six different precast concrete applications; and

The actual commercialization of concrete manufacturing using CO₂-curing.

Long-term research continues at Rutgers University, where the original generation of the technology was developed, and collaborative research efforts are underway in laboratories at Purdue University, Ohio University, and the University of South Florida.

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