Concrete Circularity: old concrete into new

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Every year, 86 million tonnes of concrete is produced in the UK with a value of c.£1bn per annum.Concrete has two key drawbacks: it is hard to recycle and has a large carbon footprint. Currently, most old concrete is downcycled into fill materials requiring new concrete to be made mainly from virgin materials and is lost to the value economy.New technologies allow old concrete to be recycled back into new concrete while dramatically reducing its carbon footprint through permanent carbon sequestration. This presents an opportunity to improve circularity of building materials and reduce quarrying, cement production and carbon emissions, while creating new revenue streams.Xeroc is developing an affordable, practical, and investable methodology to deploy new technologies at industrial plants and redevelopment sites in the UK: Xeroc Concrete Circularity Methodology (XCCM).Our development is split into 5 phases, the first three being the focus of this project:1. Laboratory testing of beneficiated concrete fines1. Field demonstration trial1. Feasibility study of XCCM plant \#1We are seeking £45,000 for the first 3 phases of work which will demonstrate the technology, the market and the economics of XCCM. This will enable Xeroc to raise private investment for phases 4 and 5: selecting and securing a site; and building the first commercial plant.**Phase 1: Laboratory testing of beneficiated concrete fines (Apr-Jun '23)**Concrete is made mainly from aggregates, sand and cement. Xeroc's process returns each component to its original form with as little contamination from the other components as possible. Testing shows sand and aggregates can be used in new concrete. However, more work is needed on the cement fraction to determine mix ratios of recycled powder with virgin cement in the production of new concrete. Lab testing will determine cementitious quality of recycled powder, CO2 sequestration rates and overall carbon footprint reduction of XCCM recycled concrete versus conventional product.**Phase 2: Field Trial** **to demonstrate the methodology (Jun-Aug '23)**The field trial will deploy XCCM at a project site likely to be in Westminster City Council authority area to demonstrate methodology and identify practical considerations (logistics, storage, planning/licencing, limitations).**Phase 3: Feasibility study to evaluate our first plant (Sep '23)**The feasibility study will set out a techno-economic investment case for the first XCCM plant, including plant design, capital and operating costs, sourcing raw material (waste concrete), market assessment, proposed sales channels, permitting and investment plan.