The first site is now in operation in Greenwich, London and will permanently remove CO2 in the coming months and support building projects in the local area. The site will be able to permanently store and remove 1,000 tonnes of CO2 (net) per year.
This is the first venture into the UK market for the Swiss cleantech start-up, which has already established 19 carbon capture and storage sites deployed in Europe to date. The site is one of the first commercially and ecologically viable solutions for permanent, onshore carbon removal in the UK.
Neustark’s innovative technology and business model captures CO2 from biomass sites, liquefies it, then injects it into existing mineral waste streams such as demolished materials to be recycled and used in construction. This uses a process of mineralisation that stores the CO2 in the aggregate, permanently removing it from the atmosphere and creating carbonated, recycled building materials such as concrete.
As a leading supplier of materials and solutions to the construction industry, Aggregate Industries, part of the global Holcim Group, has partnered with neustark to accelerate green growth and to provide high-quality, sustainable products to its customers.
The building and construction industry is estimated to account for 37% of global carbon emissions, 7% coming from the production of cement alone, according to a 2023 report by the United Nations Environment Project (UNEP). While there have been efforts from the industry to decarbonise, the UK Green Building Council warned that the UK construction industry was ‘significantly off-track’ on its net zero goals at the end of last year indicating that decarbonisation rates would need to double in the coming years.
By using the carbon removal process of mineralisation, neustark and Aggregate Industries can support increased decarbonisation in the construction sector by turning demolished concrete, the world’s largest waste stream, 1 billion tons per year, into a carbon sink. Each tonne of demolished concrete can store an average of 10 kg of CO2.
The UK government signalled clear support for CCUS by announcing a pledge of £21.7 billion in funding last month, however, the focus of this investment is currently on CCS. The government initiative is also tasked with building out regional technology ‘clusters’ for the development of the industry.
Valentin Gutknecht, CEO and co-founder, neustark, said, “We have already deployed 19 sites in Central Europe that capture and remove thousands of tons of CO2. By extending our relationship with Holcim and partnering with Aggregate Industries, we are now bringing this revolutionary technology to the UK.”
“The UK is an ideal market for us as it has a mature supply chain and the infrastructure we need to remove CO2 at scale. The government is supportive of building a competitive carbon market and shifting the industry away from early-stage developments to a competitive commercial set-up. But there is not enough focus on carbon removal, or consideration of how carbon removal can be embedded into existing supply chains and industries beyond oil and gas rather than always requiring extensive new infrastructure.”
“This partnership is proof that collaboration between a cleantech start-up and global leader in building solutions can create tangible climate impact today. The rest of the construction industry should follow suit and we need to look at other applicable industries too.”
Unlike other carbon removal technology, neustark is removing CO2 now and has already removed over 2,500 tonnes of CO2 from the earth’s atmosphere since it launched commercially in 2023. The business plans to bring online approximately 40 additional sites in the coming months and throughout 2025 in the region.