Amid growing interest in reducing carbon emissions across the construction industry, KC Industry, the leading domestic company in the construction-civil engineering PC sector, is attracting attention from related industries by attempting carbon neutrality from the product manufacturing stage.
According to KC Industry, the company recently completed the Smart Eco-Factory project successfully with government support and has begun full-scale operations. In addition, they have started research on producing carbon-storing concrete products.
Among KC Industry’s eco-factory facilities, the direct heating boiler differs from conventional boilers that use an indirect heating method by passing combustion heat through a flue to generate steam. Instead, it adopts a method where combustion gases directly heat the water, improving thermal efficiency and significantly reducing pollutants and carbon emissions generated during combustion.
When using such equipment, the CO2 contained in the steam reacts with cement during the concrete curing process to form calcium carbonate, increasing compressive strength and reducing cement usage, achieving a twofold benefit. In conclusion, KC Industry explains that the reduced fuel consumption due to high thermal efficiency and the carbon stored in concrete during curing contribute to carbon reduction effects.
A KC Industry representative stated, “In addition to these achievements, we have begun joint research with related industries to commercialize the ‘technology to permanently store CO2 in produced products’ by directly injecting CO2 during the curing process.”
Chairman Lee Hong-jae of KC Industry said, “We will continue to be a trusted company for customers through research, development, and investment in new construction methods to become an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) company providing the best products and services in the PC construction field.” He added, “If this research is successfully commercialized, carbon-zero products capable of processing not only carbon generated during manufacturing but also carbon from other industries will be produced, contributing to ESG management.”
Meanwhile, KC Industry is the top domestic company in the construction-civil engineering PC sector and has been recognized for its PC construction technology through over 100 patents. Through research and development with the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, it developed stacked PC modular building technology. In December last year, it obtained industrialized housing certification from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, expanding its PC technology into construction.
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