A logistics facility in southern Germany has hosted the country’s first commercial-scale use of carbon-storing ready-mix concrete incorporating Paebbl Rebond.
Holcim, a building materials and construction solutions company, collaborated with Swedish startup Paebbl and general contractor GOLDBECK on the project. The concrete was used for a 420 m² industrial floor slab at the logistics facility.
The mix replaced 15% of traditional cement with Paebbl Rebond, reducing the concrete’s embodied carbon by 13% compared with the reference CEM II/B-M mix. It also permanently sequestered 886kg of CO₂ through mineralisation across the project area.
Carbon-storing material used in concrete
Paebbl Rebond uses accelerated mineralisation technology to turn captured CO₂ into a stable, light grey mineral powder composed primarily of magnesium carbonate and silicon dioxide.
The material is used as a supplementary cementitious material, replacing part of the conventional cement in concrete. The captured CO₂ is permanently stored through mineralisation.
Holcim and Paebbl developed and tested the concrete mix before its use on site. Laboratory testing took place at Holcim’s Innovation Center in Lyon, France, followed by plant trials with Holcim South Germany.
The trials assessed workability, air content and bleeding behaviour. Holcim also worked with Paebbl to produce a verified Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for the concrete.
From testing to a commercial project
The project moved from concept to implementation in six months. Paebbl poured the 420m² floor in a single day.
The concrete met the C30/37 strength specification and was used without impacting construction schedules.
The 15% reduction in cement use was measured against the CEM II/B-M reference mix. Alongside the reduction in embodied carbon, the concrete permanently stored 886kg of CO₂ through mineralisation across the project area.
Holcim expands work on carbon-storing construction
Holcim has invested in Paebbl through MAQER Ventures, its venture investment platform. The German project is part of the companies’ work on carbon-storing construction materials.
Bengt Steinbrecher, Head of Holcim MAQER Ventures, said the project showed how the technology could scale through collaboration among the companies involved.
The commercial application follows laboratory testing at Holcim’s Lyon facility and plant trials in southern Germany, taking Paebbl Rebond into an industrial floor slab project.
