Low-carbon construction materials encompass a broad class of building products engineered to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, resource consumption, and environmental impact across their life cycle. Approaches include alternative binders such as geopolymers and low-clinker cements, incorporation of recycled aggregates and industrial by-products, and development of bio-based and engineered living materials that can self-heal or sequester carbon. These materials are applied in concrete, masonry, pavements, insulation, and structural components, often integrating circular economy principles and digital design or AI tools for performance optimization.
Energy & Green Tech
In an industrial park in Zhangjiagang, a small city on China's east coast, a large humming and hissing machine feeds on piles of used clothes and sorts them.
Apr 2, 2026
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Engineering
Alkaline industrial wastewaters from steel or cement production are ideally suited to bind and sequester carbon dioxide (CO₂) chemically, safely, and for the long term. This is the result of a study conducted by the Helmholtz-Zentrum ...
Mar 30, 2026
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Engineering
Concrete may be one of the world's most familiar materials, yet much is still unknown about its inner microbial world. Researchers from Hiroshima University and Kyoto University found that once concrete hardens, microbes ...
Mar 30, 2026
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Engineering
Taller buildings get a bad rap. New research from University of Toronto Engineering's Center for the Sustainable Built Environment (CSBE) has found that while adding height does slightly increase embodied emissions, other ...
Mar 5, 2026
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Engineering
The construction industry is one of the most polluting due to its high contribution to CO2 emissions. In addition to its significant environmental cost, its materials are made from nonrenewable resources such as sand and ...
Mar 3, 2026
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Engineering
Researchers at the University of Oulu, Finland, have developed new high-performance bio-based resins that can replace conventional oil-based materials in composite products—without compromising strength, cost, or industrial ...
Feb 23, 2026
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Engineering
Tall structures like radio towers experience high wind loads that generate uplift forces at their foundations, a challenge that is increasing burden, as natural occurrences like typhoons and tornadoes become more frequent ...
Feb 20, 2026
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Engineering
When we moved into our house, there was a shed in the garden. Its timbers were rotten, the floor had long since disappeared into the ground, there was no door, the window had fallen out and various creatures had moved in.
Feb 10, 2026
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Engineering
Scientists at the University of Sharjah report that they have successfully transformed desert sand into construction bricks that are more sustainable than conventional cement or fired-clay bricks. Their innovation heralds ...
Feb 10, 2026
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Engineering
Globally, more than 400 million tons of plastic are produced each year, and less than 10% is recycled. Much of the rest ends up burned, buried or drifting through waterways, a problem that's only getting worse.
Feb 9, 2026
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