How much steel does a person need to have a “first world” standard of living? Most people in the developed world never think of this question. They just get up from their beds held together with steel screws and bolts, stand on their floors which are held up with steel … [continued]
ChatGPT & DALL-E generated anoramic image of a concrete truck pouring US paper money into a construction site's foundation
During what has become concrete month, I’ve explored the full range of actual and purported solutions to the climate problem that is the cement, steel, and concrete used in construction. The industry’s emissions are high, with every ton of reinforced concrete having a carbon debt of 0.3-0.4 tons of carbon … [continued]
Reinforced concrete was invented in the mid-19th century, a game-changer in the construction world. French gardener Joseph Monier is often credited with its creation. While experimenting with materials to build stronger garden pots and tubs, he had the idea to combine concrete with iron mesh in 1849. Monier patented his … [continued]
ChatGPT & DALL-E generated panoramic image of an electric cement truck covered in circuitry delivering cement to a construction site.
A few days ago I went deep on cement again, using an assessment of the processes of American clean cement startups to define the scope and magnitude of the problem, the chemistry and energy requirements of cement, why fixing it is critically important, and incidentally evaluate a couple of companies’ … [continued]
ChatGPT & DALL-E generated panoramic image of a river bed sand dredge with a concrete plant in the background
During concrete day… errr … week … errr … verging on two weeks this time, I’ve explored a lot of carbon emissions solutions for the full value chain of the gray glue that ensures our buildings don’t collapse, our bridges stay up, and our underground working chambers don’t pancake. We … [continued]
The need for greater climate finance has been the focus of numerous industry analyses, including at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). The World Economic Forum explains that we are in a place in which investment levels remain multiple times below what is needed to reach net zero … [continued]
California seeks the upper hand in the heat pump race, but New York State is also hatching plans to kickstart the industry.
ChatGPT & DALL-E generated panoramic image of an electric arc furnace cauldron with slag forming on the surface, while a cement truck is standing by
An electric arc furnace is like a giant, high-tech kitchen appliance for melting metal. Imagine a huge, robust pot where you throw in scrap metal, like old cars or broken appliances. Instead of using gas or coal to heat things up, this “pot” uses powerful electric arcs — think of … [continued]
Cement is the gray glue that holds our modern cities and infrastructure together. We use about 4.1 billion tons of it a year, and every ton has a carbon debt of about a ton of carbon dioxide. That’s about 10% of our global emissions, so it’s a big problem. From … [continued]
As the energy transition accelerates, the clean energy buying market is also benefiting from some much-needed innovation. The imperative to drive greater carbon emissions reductions in the power sector has exposed the need for more precise deployment and tracking. Because the grid is not uniform — some states/regions are further … [continued]
