Industry Report: New Zealand Concrete

ASA member, Holcim, are currently constructing a facility to import and distribute low carbon cement replacement products within New Zealand.

New Zealand currently uses 1.6 million tonnes of traditional cement, equalling 1.3 million tonnes of C02 emissions.

However, in recent times, New Zealand has had minimal access to low-carbon cement alternatives, with the replacement of traditional cement equating to only 2%; in comparison to 26% in Australia. Holcim is working with the construction industry to achieve 25% replacement by 2025, which will aim to reduce 300,000 tonnes per annum.

This facility comes at the perfect time by providing a positive step toward New Zealand's Government Zero Carbon ambitions as well as Holcims 2050 net-zero pledge, which include 2030 targets certified by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The low-carbon cement alternative will involve the use of Australian fly ash, a by-product of the iron-making process, and ground granulated blast furnace slag from Japan, formed when molten Blast Furnace Slag (BFS) is rapidly quenched from the furnace, rather than left to solidify by air-cooling slowly.

Executive General Manager of Holcim New Zealand, Kevin Larcombe, emphasises the benefits of the replacement products containing supplementary cementitious materials explaining, “These new products will absolutely deliver much lower embodied carbon...they also offer superior performance over standard cement. Depending on the application there are significant benefits," he said.

By the end of 2022, the facility will be at peak operation with 100,000 tonnes of ordinary Portland cement replaced with blended low-carbon cement, creating downward pressure on carbon emissions, and driving the circular economy even further into the future.