First public building with carbon concrete under construction

The first public building in Germany to use carbon concrete is being built in Dresden. "Carbon concrete makes an important contribution to climate neutrality in the construction industry," said Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) on Monday at the laying of the foundation stone for the sports hall of the 49th elementary school in the Plauen district. Innovative construction methods such as this have "enormous development potential" and are important "in order to build in a more resource-efficient and therefore more environmentally friendly way". During her visit, Geywitz symbolically placed the first carbon concrete wall element for the next construction phase of the sports hall.

According to the ministry, the special feature of the project is the use of carbon concrete as a building material in the above-ground supporting structure of the sports hall. The innovative carbon concrete wall system is being used for the first time in a public building. "Carbon concrete is one of many innovations in mineral construction methods that enable slimmer, CO2-reduced components and even modular construction," said Thomas Zawalski, Managing Director of solid UNIT, a network for climate-neutral construction with mineral building materials. This technology must continue to be promoted in the future.

Carbon concrete contains a reinforcement made of carbon, glass or basalt, according to the press release. It uses rods and mats that have a high load-bearing capacity and do not rust. This construction method is associated with up to 80 percent less material consumption and a CO2 footprint that is reduced by at least 50 percent. The use of cement-reduced concretes or further optimizations in the construction would offer additional savings potential in the future. Work is also underway to obtain carbon from renewable raw materials and CO2 from the air.

According to Christian Kulas from the C³ - Carbon Concrete Composite association, the use of carbon concrete is becoming increasingly popular. Its use in the load-bearing structure of public buildings such as schools also ensures safety and durability. "Carbon concrete is the ideal solution for sustainable construction."