Construction materials company Boral Limited is spearheading an innovative project to develop a lower-carbon concrete product using Australian calcined clay as an alternative supplementary cementitious material (SCM).
This groundbreaking initiative aims to ensure a sustainable supply of Boral’s lower carbon concrete offerings, addressing the anticipated decline in global availability of blast furnace slag and fly ash.
Boral has joined forces with several key partners to drive this project forward, including University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Transport for NSW and Calix, an environmental technology company.
The project is supported by SmartCrete CRC, an independent cooperative research centre that brings together industry, research, and government collaborators to enhance the viability of Australia’s concrete infrastructure.
The two-year initiative, co-funded through the Commonwealth’s CRC Program, focuses on demonstrating the technical feasibility of calcined clay concrete for use in Australian buildings and infrastructure.
The project will involve accelerated lab testing, field trials and validation stages.
A significant milestone has already been achieved, with the first batch of Boral clay successfully calcined using Calix’s unique renewably powered electric calcination technology.
This project builds upon extensive research conducted over the past three years at the UTS Boral Centre for Sustainable Building.
The research identified the suitability of various Australian clay sources for this application.
Vik Bansal, CEO and Managing Director at Boral, emphasised the company’s commitment to a lower carbon future, stating: “We are continuously improving and diversifying our lower carbon concrete offering by identifying new ways to reduce the cementitious intensity of our products.”
Dr Ali Nezhad, Head of Sustainability and Innovation at Boral and lead on the calcined clay project, expressed enthusiasm about the potential of this innovation.
He noted: “Given the abundance of clay in Australia, using Australian calcined clay was a natural decision for us.”
This project represents a significant step forward in the construction industry’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.
As the demand for sustainable building materials continues to grow, innovations like Boral’s calcined clay concrete could play a crucial role in shaping the future of construction in Australia and beyond.