A revolutionary new type of cement for the construction industry is now set to be developed in Australia after its British creators went out of business earlier this month.

As a result of Novacem's insolvency, the hi-tech cement development programme should now be progressed on the other side of the world.

Described as ‘carbon-negative', the cement effectively scrubs the air of CO2 emissions. That's especially significant when, as a whole, the cement industry generates an estimated two billion tons of carbon dioxide every single year: over five per cent of the global population's combined CO2 emissions.

Green Cement

The green cement is made from a blend of magnesium oxide and high-purity sand and, crucially, doesn't feature CO2-heavy ingredients like calcium carbonate and limestone.

Compared to Portland cement, it's much less polluting during the manufacturing stage and it actually sucks in CO2 as it hardens-up. In fact, according to information released by Novacem in 2009 when this product first emerged, there's something like three-quarters of a ton more CO2 associated with Portland cement than their product on a per-ton basis.

Novacem itself was developed as an Imperial College London spin-out and, on two occasions, made it into the Global Cleantech 100 register. Ultimately unable to raise enough funding to sustain its future operations, its demise was announced during the week commencing 8 October 2012.

Carbon-Absorbing Cement

Stuart Evans, who founded Novacem in 2007, has since said he believes the carbon-absorbing cement should makes its new owners "a fortune" over the next 10 years. "Right now, it needs $50-100m in investment but once the technology is established, it will be worth billions", Evans explained in further comments quoted by The Guardian newspaper. "You can just do the arithmetic. It is unfortunate that even the best of British venture capitalists find it hard to take on an opportunity like this."

It isn't yet known which Australian company acquired this green cement technology but it's understood that it paid a six-figure sum for the rights to further develop it. Construction International will revisit this topic in future News Items.

Image copyright Novacem