22.9.2022
Geoprime® is the next-generation, low carbon solution and a sustainable alternative to cement. It is a mix design and a material that enables us to create cement-free construction materials out of industrial side streams. The solution’s durability and strength are comparable to cement-based products – yet it outperforms the traditional products with its significantly lower carbon footprint. Now IBF’s sewage pipes more than halve the CO2 footprint compared to ordinary concrete pipes, and the result has been achieved without compromising on strength, dimensions, resistance to wear and leaching of harmful substances from the pipes.
Aarhus Vand A/S is IBF’s first customer in Denmark to implement these cement-free concrete pipes. Aarhus Vand A/S is a utility company which supplies drinking water and handles sewage for 350,000 private and business customers in the Aarhus area. First implementation was a stretch of 600 meters in Lykkesholms Allé in the Aarhus district of Viby and more will follow...
"It is generally a challenge to reduce CO2 emissions in construction work because many large, diesel-powered machines and concrete are used, which have a high CO2 footprint. The cement-free concrete pipes from IBF are a novelty that supports the whole movement, which Aarhus Vand is involved in, to reducing our CO2 footprint. It is a much welcome contribution,"
- Morten Østergaard Nielsen, project manager at Aarhus Vand.
For IBF, the cement-free concrete pipes do not entail major changes in the production of the pipes, and on the surface, it is almost indistinguishable from an ordinary concrete pipe.
Not even for the contractor Arkil A/S, who laid the Ø500 and Ø600 diameter pipes in the ground on Lykkesholms Allé, has anything changed compared to working with traditional concrete pipes. Construction manager Flemming Holm from Arkil has himself actively contributed to getting the project started, and for him it is a big plus that the construction work can be made more climate-friendly without having to change the work processes.
"Apart from the color, there is no difference at all in storing and installing the cement-free concrete pipes. Installing them requires no additional training or instructions, so it's just a matter of putting them in the ground," says Flemming Holm.
“Our cooperation with Betolar has worked well and taking Geoprime® into use in our production is so easy because we have not needed to make any changes into our production. This has really surprised us and our customers how easy everything is. We have other projects in the pipeline, and we expect that demand will increase after these first public launches”, tells Jesper K. K. Bang, Engineer and Head of department, IBF A/S.
IBF has really taken lowering its CO2 footprint in its strategy. They have already implemented several means in their operations e.g., by installing solar panels on the roof and their trucks drive with renewable diesel. Now it is time to reduce CO2 of their products also and with Geoprime®this is possible.
“IBF is the market leader in the concrete manufacturing and distribution in Denmark and can deliver several different solution areas. We are very happy to cooperate with them in the Danish markets. IBF is showing that they are a true forerunner in bringing these low carbon solutions to the Danish markets and has integrated this fully into their strategy”, says Janne Rauramo, Head of EMEA, Betolar Plc.
“We are a privately owned company, and we reduce CO2 where we can. We want to be slowly changing the industry and hopefully in the future all our pipes will be made with this”
- Jesper K. K. Bang, Engineer and Head of department, IBF A/S.
At the project owner Aarhus Vand, the cement-free concrete pipes fall squarely in line with the utility company's objective of meeting the UN's 17 Sustainability Goals, where measures in the climate and environmental area are paramount. Aarhus Vand works, among other things with climate protection of communal sewered areas, where rain and sewage currently flows in the same pipes, but in the future must be separated into separate pipes. This will prevent the mixture of rainwater and raw sewage from running over and into nature during heavy rain and cloudbursts. Climate protection requires new concrete pipes to be laid in the ground.
"We are working with a strategy where in some places we direct rainwater on the surface instead of in pipes underground to reduce the CO2 footprint. But in many places, we still must lay new pipes in the ground, and the project with the cement-free concrete pipes shows that we can achieve tangible and significant CO2 savings," says Morten Østergaard Nielsen.
There is still no EU standard for cement-free concrete, but with the help of independent testing institutions, IBF has acquired documentation of the necessary requirements for the concrete pipes ahead of time. Therefore, Aarhus Vand could quickly make the decision to start the project.
"It is great that Aarhus Vand has chosen to take the lead with this project. We have invested many hours and money in the development of the cement-free concrete pipes together with Betolar, which we are very proud of and really believe in," says Jesper K. K. Bang.
