Lotte Construction Develops Concrete That Reduces Carbon Emissions by Up to 90%

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] Lotte Construction announced on the 5th that it has succeeded in developing eco-friendly concrete that can reduce carbon emissions by up to 90% compared to conventional concrete. It is explained that building apartments with this concrete has the effect of planting about 42,000 trees (based on 1,000 households).

Cement, the main ingredient of concrete, gains strength as the temperature rises. However, heating it to high temperatures emits more than 0.9 tons of carbon dioxide per ton produced. In response, Lotte Construction developed eco-friendly concrete that uses only 5% cement through new technology while achieving strength equivalent to conventional concrete and exhibiting superior durability against salt damage.

The eco-friendly concrete is made by mixing 5% cement with 80% blast furnace slag, a byproduct of the steel industry. Some additives are used to enhance strength and durability.

The eco-friendly concrete reduces the heat of hydration generated by the chemical reaction between cement components and water inside the concrete by more than 30%. This reduces the likelihood of cracks, making it advantageous for securing construction quality of large underground structures such as apartment foundations and piles.

Through the development of eco-friendly concrete, Lotte Construction plans to reduce the embodied carbon (carbon generated during raw material production and construction) of concrete, an essential material at construction sites, and drastically reduce the amount of cement, the main source of carbon emissions among concrete raw materials.

Lotte Construction obtained the K-Mark certification for the cement used in the eco-friendly concrete. The K-Mark is a system certified by the Korea Testing Laboratory that evaluates the quality level of industrial products. It meets performance standards such as strength and harmful substance detection and has received eco-friendly certification.

Additionally, patents related to the manufacturing and durability securing technologies of concrete using this cement have been filed and registered, one each, and verification of production quality and performance has been completed through ready-mixed concrete production and component application experiments.

The newly developed eco-friendly concrete can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 90% compared to concrete using 100% cement. When constructing apartments with eco-friendly concrete, it is possible to reduce about 6,000 tons of embodied carbon based on 1,000 households. Lotte Construction explains that this is equivalent to the effect of planting about 42,000 trees.

A representative from Lotte Construction’s Technology Research Institute said, “We plan to actively apply the eco-friendly concrete developed this time to construction sites for eco-friendly buildings,” and added, “We will take the lead in ESG management by developing and expanding the application of eco-friendly technologies that can reduce carbon emissions.” This eco-friendly concrete development was carried out in collaboration with WithMtec, a venture company specializing in eco-friendly construction new material technology development.