Selecting Low Carbon Concrete for Transport Infrastructures – Now and Future

Almost half of concrete produced each year in Australia goes towards new transport infrastructure, contributing to a huge amount of the construction industry’s embodied carbon.

Transport infrastructure designers need to select low carbon concrete for their new projects to help Australia reach its goal of net-zero emissions. But with many new types of low carbon concrete coming onto the market, designers need a better way to select fit-for-purpose materials and quantify their embodied carbon reductions.

In this project, Transport for New South Wales has partnered with Cement Concrete and Aggregates Australia and researchers from the University of Technology Sydney. Together, they will develop a framework that allows infrastructure designers to design and select concrete mixes that will meet performance requirements while reducing a structure’s embodied carbon. The framework will also help designers achieve the ideal workability, mechanical and durability properties for their purposes. Transport for New South Wales will adopt the specification framework for new project designs, leading the way for other transport authorities, councils and project teams to adopt the framework.

PROJECT PARTNERS

• Transport for NSW
• Cement, Concrete & Aggregates Australia
• University of Technology Sydney