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Tag: Neustark

  • Partnership for climate protection and innovation

    Partnership for climate protection and innovation

    The Bern-based ClimateTech company Neustark has been awarded a long-term contract by AXA Switzerland to reduce CO2 emissions. From 2026 and until 2030, the company is to reduce 1800 tons of the greenhouse gas with its technologies for capturing and mineralizing carbon dioxide, according to a press release. The project is part of AXA’s strategy, which aims to reduce operational carbon dioxide emissions by 43 percent between 2019 and 2030. AXA is also working with the German-Brazilian start-up InPlanet, which aims to remove a total of 1950 tons of CO2 by 2028 and store it for the long term.

    “By supporting these projects, we are making a contribution to net zero and at the same time promoting future-oriented technologies and Switzerland as a location for innovation,” said Daniela Fischer, Chief Sustainability Officer at AXA Switzerland, in the press release.

    Neustark has developed a technology that captures CO2 from biogas plants and stores it in demolition concrete. “Partnering with pioneering companies like AXA Switzerland that are investing in permanent CO2 removal helps us to scale the carbon removal industry,” explains Lisa Braune, Head of Carbon Removal at Neustark.

  • New plant for the mineralisation of CO2 in Germany

    New plant for the mineralisation of CO2 in Germany

    Together with its partner Heinrich Feess GmbH & Co. KG,Neustark has commissioned a plant for the permanent storage of CO2 in demolition concrete in Kirchheim unter Teck. The plant at the construction waste recycler in Baden-Württemberg is already the second plant realised by neustark in Germany, ClimateTech from Bern announced in a press release. Around 1000 tonnes of CO2 can be bound in demolition concrete here every year.

    Neustark’s technology works with CO2 generated during local biomethane production. It is captured directly and liquefied for transport. At the plant near Stuttgart, the CO2 is fed into the demolition concrete in an airtight silo. In a short time, it combines there in the form of limestone in the aggregate, writes neustark. The technology shortens the mineralisation process, which takes several decades in nature, to just a few hours.

    “We decided in favour of this innovative technology because it integrates perfectly into our concrete recycling and production process on site,” Walter Feess, Senior Director of the construction waste recycler, is quoted as saying in the press release. For Valentin Gutknecht, co-founder and co-CEO of neustark, the new plant is a further step towards ClimateTech’s goal of being able to permanently bind around 1 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030. “What we urgently need now is demand from the public sector for carbonated construction materials in building and road construction and corresponding legal regulations to support efforts towards greater sustainability,” says Gutknecht.

  • Microsoft kauft CO2-Zertifikate von neustark

    Microsoft kauft CO2-Zertifikate von neustark

    Der Technologieriese Microsoft setzt bei der Reduzierung seines CO2-Fussabdrucks auf das Jungunternehmen neustark. Die Ausgliederung der Eidgenössischen Technischen Hochschule Zürich (ETH) mit Sitz in Bern hat eine Technologie entwickelt, mit der CO2 aus der Atmosphäre dauerhaft in Recyclingbeton gespeichert werden kann. Dafür wird flüssiges CO2 in Abbruchmaterial eingeleitet. Die Technologie der Firma ist bereits mehrfach in einer Pilotanlage getestet worden.

    Neustark setzt im Rahmen seines Geschäftsmodells auch auf den Verkauf von CO2-Zertifikaten. Damit können Unternehmen ihren CO2-Ausstoss kompensieren. Microsoft wird einer Medienmitteilung zufolge solche Zertifikate von neustark beziehen. Das Technologieunternehmen will bis 2030 mehr CO2 aus der Atmosphäre entfernen als es selbst ausstösst.

    „Microsoft hat sich für neustarks technologiebasierte Lösung für Carbon Removal entschieden, weil die Leistung bereits 2022 erbracht werden kann und ein erhebliches Skalierungspotenzial hat“, heisst es in der Mitteilung.

    Weiter wird Microsoft neustark auch im Rahmen seines Förderprogramms für Schweizer Start-ups unterstützen. Dabei erhält das Jungunternehmen kostenlosen Zugriff auf verschiedene Software-Lösungen von Microsoft.

  • Dutch central bank builds with new strength

    Dutch central bank builds with new strength

    The Dutch Central Bank uses CO2-neutral concrete in the renovation of its Amsterdam headquarters. This is made possible thanks to a collaboration between the Dutch New Horizon Urban Mining BV and the Swiss start-up neustark , according to a LinkedIn announcement .

    New Horizon’s technology makes it possible to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete by 75 percent, they say. For this, cement is obtained from concrete recycling material. The remaining footprint is offset by neustark. The start-up has developed a technology with which CO2 from the atmosphere can be permanently stored in recycled concrete. For this purpose, liquid CO2 is introduced into demolition material.

    Neustark is a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich ( ETH ) based in Bern. The company works with Holcim , among others, to drive innovation and sustainability in the construction sector. As part of the collaboration, neustark is investigating the CO2 conversion potential of Holcim’s recycled demolition concrete. Holcim, in turn, optimizes the concrete produced by neustark.

  • Milestone for sustainable building is being created in Zug

    Milestone for sustainable building is being created in Zug

    The construction project for V-ZUG ‘s new production and assembly building called Zephyr Ost in the Zug Tech Cluster is the largest to date in which CO2-enriched concrete has been used. It is made from recycled concrete from the building materials group Holcim , which is enriched with CO2 using a neustark process. According to a press release , the construction work started on Wednesday. The building is scheduled to go into service in 2023.

    For this climate-friendly concrete, CO2 from Switzerland is being used for the first time. The start-up based in Bern and spun off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich ( ETH ) in 2019, neustark extracts the CO2 from the wastewater treatment plant of the ara region Bern AG .

    The recycled granulate for concrete production is processed by the recycling processing plant Arge EvoREC in Oberdorf NW. This is a joint venture between Holcim Kies und Beton AG and Zimmermann Umweltlogistik AG . The granulate is then carbonated by neustark using the dry process. The technology has been tested in the past few months and is now being used commercially.

    With the use of 4,200 cubic meters of recycled concrete and the binding of CO2, a total saving of 71 tons of CO2 is achieved compared to conventional construction. That corresponds roughly to the annual CO2 uptake of 3500 Swiss firs.

    “We are pleased to be able to come one step closer to our vision of climate-neutral and circular concrete production with the help of the innovative neustark process,” said Giovanni Barbarani, Head of Concrete Performance at Holcim Switzerland. “This project is a milestone on the way to sustainable building in Switzerland, also thanks to its regionality and short transport routes.”

    The Metall Zug Group wants to create “a new piece of the city for an industrial ecosystem” in the Zug Tech Cluster. Other industrial companies, start-ups, technology-related service providers, training institutions and apartments are also to be located there.

  • Holcim drives innovation from start-ups

    Holcim drives innovation from start-ups

    The Zug-based cement giant Holcim is teaming up with three young Swiss companies, according to a media release . The aim is to advance innovative technologies in the construction sector and promote sustainability.

    In cooperation with the Freiburg start-up Mobbot , for example, the integration of recycled building materials into 3D printing technology is to be promoted. Mobbot has developed the necessary 3D printing technology. Together with Holcim, it now wants to develop a concrete recipe that enables the use of recycled material in 3D printing.

    Holcim has entered into another cooperation with the Bern-based company Neuustark . The spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich ( ETH ) is developing a technology with which CO2 from the atmosphere can be permanently stored in recycled concrete. For this purpose, liquid CO2 is introduced into the demolition material. As part of the collaboration, neustark is investigating the CO2 conversion potential of the demolition concrete recycled by Holcim. In turn, Holcim is optimizing the concrete produced by Neustark. Holcim believes it is possible to integrate the neustark solution into its recycling process in the future.

    The third collaboration between Holcim and the Ticino start-up company HeatNeutral has been agreed. This has developed an innovative combustion system that is intended to promote the decarbonization of production facilities. According to the information, the heating system works particularly efficiently and achieves an almost 100 percent combustion of fuels. This means that less fuel is required for the same output. In addition, the HeatNeutral system can also burn CO2-neutral oils such as vegetable oils, used cooking oils and biodiesel. Holcim is testing the solution in its concrete plant in Birsfelden BL.

  • ETH spin-off binds CO2 in broken concrete

    ETH spin-off binds CO2 in broken concrete

    If the concrete industry were a country, it would be the third largest emitter in the world. It produces around four times as much CO2 as all global air traffic. The start-up Neustark , a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich ( ETH ), is countering this with its concept: the mineralization of carbon dioxide from the air to obtain limestone.

    Neustark binds CO2 in the pores and on the surface of concrete granulate. This upgraded granulate can then be mixed in fresh concrete as a substitute for sand and gravel. Thanks to these granules, less cement is required while the properties remain the same. This emerges from a communication from the ETH.

    “What appealed to me was that the solution would not be available for five or ten years, but already now,” says business economist Valentin Gutknecht, who is responsible for the operational aspects of the business in the ever-growing Neustark team. Together with Johannes Tiefenthaler, he wants to turn this climate-positive business idea into reality. Tiefenthaler is doing his doctorate at the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering ( MAVT ) on the next generation of technology for the mineralization of carbon dioxide.

    There is a lot of research going on in the construction sector, but so far the industry has only achieved small reductions in emissions, so Tiefenthaler. The advantage of the concrete granulate is that it is highly reactive and the broken concrete forms a very stable chemical compound even without climate-damaging pre-treatment with carbon dioxide.

    Your pilot plant for recycling concrete is funded by the Federal Office for the Environment ( FOEN ) and the Swiss Climate Foundation. The project is now intended to demonstrate the added value along the entire value chain. Neustark's goal: negative emissions for which there are only "very few technical approaches". The start-up wants to show "that negative emissions can not only bring costs but even economic benefits".