Empa Researchers Win Building Award for CO2-Storing Concrete

(CONNECT) The Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) is one of the winners of the Building Award 2025. According to a press release, a team from the Concrete and Asphalt department has received an award for CO2-saving concrete. The concrete contains added carbon pellets and is classified as a "promising approach to significantly reduce emissions in the construction industry". Around 8 percent of global CO2 emissions are caused by cement production, according to the press release.

The Empa researchers used a process with which untreated biochar can be integrated into concrete in pellet form. The concrete enables the production of CO2-neutral or CO2-negative concrete and can replace some of the conventional aggregates in concrete. Although concrete products with biochar already exist, these are often added untreated. "The biochar is very porous and therefore not only absorbs a lot of water, but also expensive additives that are used in concrete production," Empa researcher Mateusz Wyrzykowski is quoted as saying.

According to Pietro Lura, Head of the Concrete and Asphalt Department, Empa is working with partners to prepare the industrial production of CO2-negative pellets. "The first application in a building will be in the new NEST unit Beyond Zero," he is quoted as saying. NEST is a modular research and innovation building built by Empa and the Eawag aquatic research institute in Dübendorf.

The Building Award is presented every two years by Bilding - Swiss foundation for the promotion of young engineers in the construction industry for outstanding engineering achievements and is described as the "Oscar of Swiss engineering", according to the press release. Based on the film prize, it is awarded in several categories. Empa won in the Research, Development, Start-ups category. ce/heg