This session will provide an overview of the progress achieved under the UK Concrete Sustainable Construction Strategy Framework and the UK Concrete and Cement Roadmap to Beyond Net Zero. It will also explore the latest developments in low-carbon concrete specifications and procurement, delivered in collaboration with the value chain.

Cement contributes around 8% of global CO₂ emissions, creating urgent demand for low-carbon alternatives. The UKRI-funded GCSCM project is developing belitic calcium sulfoaluminate (BCSA) cement as a UK-manufactured replacement for Portland cement. BCSA delivers 25–35% lower emissions alongside rapid strength gain, shrinkage compensation and high chemical resistance. A major advance is the production of BCSA clinker entirely from UK waste-derived materials, removing reliance on imported bauxite. Successful 2024 pilot rotary-kiln trials demonstrated compatibility with conventional equipment, supporting a scalable, secure route to low-carbon cement manufacture. The presentation will summarise the materials strategy, pilot-kiln findings, performance metrics and next steps toward industrial adoption.

This seminar will explore the latest advances in Cevo Digital, showcasing how intelligent technology is enabling smarter, faster, and more sustainable decision‑making across construction projects. 

Attendees will gain insight into how Mix AI is now driving data‑informed project decisions, turning complex, real‑time project data into actionable intelligence to inform more sustainable mix design and increased programme certainty of cost, carbon and timescales. 

The presentation will also introduce Converge’s new data hub, which brings multiple data streams together into a single, connected platform. This seamless integration enables clear, consistent reporting on carbon reductions, helping project teams accurately track performance against sustainability targets and demonstrate real, measurable progress towards net‑zero ambitions. 

Featuring real‑world perspectives, Christopher Wellgreen from J Coffey Construction will share practical insights from the recent Oxford Science Park. Whilst, Joe Kirwin from Tarmac and Lisa von Graevenitz from Converge will provide an overview of the technology, its capabilities, and what’s next for data‑driven sustainability in the built environment. 

This presentation introduces a 3D concrete printing system designed to reduce the carbon impact of construction by incorporating recycled aggregates and industrial by-products into high-performance mixes. The printer’s design optimises material flow, adjusts automatically during layer deposition, and uses a versatile print head to maintain structural stability, production speed, and geometric accuracy. 

Experimental results show that concrete mixes containing recycled materials can achieve competitive mechanical properties, strong buildability, and meaningful environmental benefits. The work demonstrates a practical pathway for accelerating circularity within the concrete sector and highlights how advanced digital manufacturing can support scalable, low-carbon construction. 

This ongoing project acknowledges the following researchers for their contributions: Ali Riza Erson, Akbar A. Javadi, Behnam Sedigh Nia, and Mohammad Ali Etebari Ghasbeh. 

Chirag examines how advanced carbons are being used to enhance the performance, durability, and sustainability of concrete. Drawing on work convened through the Advanced Carbons Council and recent case studies, the presentation will focus on measurable benefits, testing approaches, and the real-world challenges of scale-up and standardisation. The talk aims to clarify what is technically validated today versus what remains under research, helping industry assess realistic adoption timelines.

Graphene and its variants are proven to be effective in cementitious systems but are seen as prohibitively expensive in a commodity industry. Concretene has developed cost-effective solutions to address this challenge and is ready to produce formulations at scale that deliver on the promise of advanced materials for the construction sector and beyond.

The Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC), located in Manchester supports the translation of the University of Manchester’s graphene and 2D‑materials research into commercial products across sectors such as coatings, composites, energy, and construction. Designed as a bridge between academia and industry, the GEIC works closely with commercial partners to accelerate the scale‑up of new technologies. With concrete responsible for up to 8% of global carbon emissions, and cement production being the primary contributor, the field is actively exploring alternative cement replacements alongside emerging materials like geopolymers and calcined clays. Over the past decade, graphene has demonstrated significant potential to improve the mechanical and structural performance of a wide range of concrete systems. This talk outlines the University’s development journey, examining both the opportunities and challenges encountered, and highlights recent collaborations with major construction companies to scale and pour graphene‑modified concrete on active sites—providing valuable insight into batching, deployment, and real‑world performance of nanomodified concrete.

How the Equivalent Performance of Combinations Concept (EPCC) is implemented in the UK through the concrete standard, BS 8500, and individual product standards to produce binary and ternary combinations, the effect this has on durability and embodied carbon.

The presentation will cover the performance of calcined London clay containing concrete, including compressive strength development, workability, and retention times.

It will focus on the lessons learnt from the REAL and Ex-Clay innovation projects, which concluded with the first application of calcined clays in the UK, on an infrastructure element with 120 years’ service life.

The speakers are joined by panellist Simon Chudley, Technical and R&D Director, LKAB and Leon Black, Professor of Infrastructure Materials at University of Leeds to take questions on concrete and cementitious materials.