About the Material
The basis of NEbeton is a geopolymer that replaces conventional cement. It primarily uses recycled and secondary raw materials, namely brick dust, blast furnace slag, ground glass, and recycled aggregate—materials that would otherwise often go unused or end up as waste.
A small amount of water and an activator are added to these materials; the activator triggers a chemical reaction that allows a solid mass to form. The tested formula also contains short PVA fibers, which help reduce cracking and increase the material’s durability.
The production process itself is similar to that of conventional concrete: the individual components are measured out, mixed, and the resulting mixture can be poured into molds and further processed. The main difference, therefore, lies in the composition—recycled materials are used instead of cement and some of the primary raw materials.
Cement, in particular, is one of the most emission-intensive building materials. The production of cement and concrete accounts for approximately 7% of global CO₂ emissions. Replacing cement with geopolymer and using secondary raw materials means that NEbeton has a carbon footprint up to 84% lower than that of conventional concrete of the same strength class.
And how does this work in practice?
For a model house with an area of 150 m² that requires 60 m³ of concrete, the carbon footprint of conventional concrete is 20.76 metric tons of CO₂, while that of NEbeton is 3.16 metric tons of CO₂. In this case, NEbeton can reduce the carbon footprint by 17.6 metric tons of CO₂.