Net-Zero Concrete Needs More Than New Chemistry

Originally published in Consulting Matters

The next chapter of concrete innovation won’t start with a technical solution or a miracle material. It will be defined by the industry’s ability to work together, says the SmartCrete CRC team.

Concrete is the world’s most widely used construction material, but producing it generates an estimated 6–8% of global carbon emissions.

Solving that challenge is the focus of SmartCrete CRC, an independent cooperative research centre established in 2020. Backed by $66.8 million from government, industry and universities, it brings together researchers and practitioners to develop the next generation of lower-carbon concrete and to understand how those innovations can move from laboratory to construction site.

The biggest barriers to low-carbon concrete are not technical. This was one of the strongest messages to emerge from the recent Future Concrete Leaders event series, presented by SmartCrete CRC and Concrete Institute of Australia’s NexGen community.

Bringing together undergraduate students, PhD candidates, early-career researchers and industry professionals, the events explored the future of concrete engineering.

“The event series provided a space to discuss where the industry was heading, the challenges we needed to solve and the opportunities that lie ahead,” says Estelle Clapham, SmartCrete CRC Education Manager.

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