Building materials to protect the climate

Empa scientist Moslem Shahverdi with pieces of wire that could make concrete more environmentally friendly. Image: Empa - Scientists are visionaries. Sometimes their ideas go much further than an industrial partner is willing to go. The Empa Zukunftsfonds aims at supporting such visionary projects, where, despite high risks - or precisely because of them - breakthrough successes are to be expected. The latest example is a research project on prestressed high-performance concrete, which can now be started thanks to funding from the Ernst Göhner Foundation. The production of concrete contributes around nine percent of global CO₂ emissions. If we want to combat climate change, we therefore need new types of concrete that last longer, produce fewer greenhouse gases and are so stable that it is possible to build slimmer - i.e. more material-efficient - structures.