Concrete is the most widely used building material in the world. It has many uses, can be produced locally and is very durable. Its environmental performance, on the other hand, has long been debated, as the production of the integral concrete component cement emits high quantities of CO2.

“If we want to make building with concrete more sustainable and climate-friendly, we have to work on new concrete formulations and at the same time use concrete in a more targeted and smarter way,” said Andreas Trummer.

Trummer is one of the researchers working on lightweight concrete construction methods at the Institute of Structural Design at TU Graz. Originally, the civil engineer focused on timber construction, but he soon turned to mineral building materials in order to participate in the decarbonisation of the construction sector, using 3D printing

Its team is now dedicated to the development of the new method of 3D printing concrete.

“This means that for...