Cement-free concrete trialled on A14 in Cambs

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Mick George Group cement free concrete
Concrete solution (Photo: Mick George Group)

Mick George Concrete is taking a leading role in the supply of low-carbon alternatives to the East Anglia and East Midlands construction industry, having dedicated a 100-tonne silo at its Cambridgeshire based batching plant to Cemfree, a low-carbon sustainable cement.

As concerns over carbon emissions and climate change escalate, Mick George Concrete has responded to unprecedented interest for a ‘green’ solution by becoming the first RMC supplier in the region to stock Cemfree in this way.

Cemfree is an ultra-low-carbon cement produced by Cambridgeshire-based building materials company DB Group (Holdings) Ltd. The product can achieve embodied carbon savings of up to 80% when used to replace ordinary Portland cement (OPC) in concrete production.

When you consider that concrete is the third-highest source of man-made COand that the global production rate of OPC currently stands at 4 billion tonnes per year contributing almost 4 billion tonnes to the Earth’s all-time high CO2 levels, you can see why this has already attracted significant interest.

As such, an agreement is in place with Highways England to trial the product on a series of ancillary applications (kerb backing, drainage, mass fill, signage) utilised within a controlled, live section of the £1.5bn A14 Huntingdon to Cambridge improvement scheme.

Mick George Concrete, exclusive concrete supplier to the A14 project, will be supplying up to 500m3 of Cemfree early in the new year, representing a pioneering test for low-carbon concrete as a technically appropriate, permanent application on major infrastructure projects.

Keen to demonstrate Cemfree’s practical applications, Mick George Concrete in collaboration with DB Group (Holdings) Ltd, has agreed to absorb the additional cost of utilising the environmentally friendly product within the project, a benefit that is anticipated to save approximately 500 tonnes of carbon.

Michael George, managing director at the Mick George Group, said: ‘’Due to an increased corporate emphasis on carbon reduction targets, there is undoubtedly more environmental consideration in construction build designs.’

“We have a strong reputation for developing cutting-edge solutions and niche products, the introduction of Cemfree represented an opportunity to do both simultaneously.’’

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