Heathrow is one of world’s first airports to trial use of lower-carbon concrete

Image: Heathrow Airports Limited

In the first week of August, UK’s Heathrow airport began a landmark new trial to explore the viability of lower carbon concrete, which cuts emissions by 50 per cent compared to a conventional concrete.

The initiative followed Heathrow’s sponsorship of a PhD candidate at the University of Surrey who undertook three years of lab work to reach this point.

The trial is designed to test the concrete’s durability and longevity in a true to life airport setting and is one of the first of its kind at any airport in the world.

As part of Heathrow’s holistic sustainability strategy – Heathrow 2.0 – the airport is committed to reducing on the ground emissions as well as those in the air. With at least 6 per cent of global carbon emissions each year linked to concrete production, Ecocem and Cemex’s innovative concrete solution has the potential to radically reduce the carbon output of infrastructure projects at the airport.

The aim is for the trial’s findings to be used to set out a blueprint that other airports, keen to reduce carbon from all facets of their operation, can follow. This trial is the first of a number being planned that will test and trial other low carbon concrete materials on the market. It is intended that the outcomes of these trials can be used to reduce embedded carbon in a number of projects being delivered by Ferrovial Construction and Dyer & Butler at Heathrow.

The project, led by Jacobs and implemented by Cemex and Ecocem is using four different applications in a pouring site located close to the control tower. These replicate use in a range of typical airport infrastructure applications, including airfield pavements, encompassing runways and taxiways as well as reinforced pit cover slabs and other ancillary concrete types.

Heathrow is one of the world’s busiest airports

With aircraft taking off and landing close to every 45 seconds at Heathrow, it is critical the concrete undergoes rigorous testing to ensure its strength and durability can withstand the pressures of the one of the world’s busiest airports.

Nigel Milton, chief of Staff and Carbon at Heathrow said: “We’re committed to cutting carbon emissions on the ground as well as in the air and we’re delighted to be hosting one of the first airport trials in the world to test lower carbon alternatives. I hope that this trial will help radically transform the built environment at Heathrow in the years to come.”

Read: Here are some ways to reduce carbon emissions with sustainable energy

In other news, in May, AD Ports Group signed an MoU with Vale, the world’s largest producer of iron ore and nickel, and one of the leading logistics operators in Brazil.

The MoU will see the development of a ‘Mega Hub’ in Abu Dhabi for industrial complexes that manufacture low-carbon items for the steel-making industry for both the local and seaborne markets, with a significant reduction of CO2 emissions.