High Speed 2 London tunnels team Skanska Costain Strabag Joint Venture bags funding from Innovate UK’s £3.2M pot for trialling repurposed London Clay as an alternative to carbon-intensive Portland cement. The Skanska Costain Strabag Joint Venture (SCS JV) project is one of six recipients of £3.2M in Innovate UK funds, which could help the UK’s concrete industry accelerate its decarbonisation efforts.
SCS JV will use its part of the funding to carry out further research and testing into using calcined London Clay - excavated from tunnel activities - as a replacement for Portland cement in concrete for High Seep 2 (HS2) permanent works. Portland cement production is highly energy-intensive and emits large amounts of CO2. Replacing it with calcined London Clay could lead to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.