BESIX regional affiliate Vanhout is renovating an office building for Cofinimmo in Mechelen (Belgium) using, in world premiere, innovative building blocks designed by Belgian companies Orbix and Masterbloc. Eight years after the start of their research, these two companies launched an ecological alternative for traditional blocks, the first circular Carbstone-technology block which permanently captures CO2, making it even CO2 negative. They recently opened the first production line for these blocks which will no doubt revolutionise the construction world.
The new production process has three advantages: give added value to residue, eliminate CO2, and make use of cement unnecessary. In this process, CO2 is used as binding agent instead of cement and this way trapped for eternity, even if the blocks are crushed or ground afterwards. The blocks, which also contain waste products from secondary raw materials (like steel slag) not only absorb CO2 instead of emitting it during the production process, but they also take CO2 out of the air and hold it. The new blocks are of course as strong and dimensionally stable as classic blocks.
The energy-conscious renovation undertaken by Vanhout in Mechelen is more than a usual renovation as it must meet the highest environmental standards. As the whole project must be managed in a circular way, Vanhout is also using an almost cement-free mortar, which means that later it can be recycled.
Bert Lenaerts, CEO of Vanhout: “Naturally, we too are proud to co-write this story as a contractor. It is a clever piece of pioneering work by Orbix and Masterbloc, with this innovative Carbstone building block in the fight against climate change. The choice of building materials will become increasingly important in the future."
Discover more about the Carbstone technology here.