{"id":163182,"date":"2025-05-19T07:36:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T05:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=163182"},"modified":"2025-05-16T10:44:36","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T08:44:36","slug":"holcim-and-elemental-present-new-carbon-sink-technology-for-buildings-during-2025-architecture-biennale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/holcim-and-elemental-present-new-carbon-sink-technology-for-buildings-during-2025-architecture-biennale\/","title":{"rendered":"Holcim and Elemental present new carbon sink technology for buildings during 2025 architecture biennale"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2025\/05\/00-HERO_000-LOW-@celestiastudio-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-163184\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.499267935578331;object-fit:cover;width:700px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2025\/05\/00-HERO_000-LOW-@celestiastudio-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2025\/05\/00-HERO_000-LOW-@celestiastudio-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2025\/05\/00-HERO_000-LOW-@celestiastudio-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2025\/05\/00-HERO_000-LOW-@celestiastudio-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2025\/05\/00-HERO_000-LOW-@celestiastudio-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2025\/05\/00-HERO_000-LOW-@celestiastudio-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2025\/05\/00-HERO_000-LOW-@celestiastudio-400x267.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u00a9 HOLCIM 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>New biochar technology transforms buildings into carbon sinks<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Innovative technology can be used in cement, mortars and concrete for all projects, from infrastructure to industry and buildings<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>First application is for a full-scale prototype of basic services housing unit<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Holcim is partnering with Pritzker Prize-winning architect Alejandro Aravena and his firm ELEMENTAL to present a new biochar technology that transforms buildings into carbon sinks. Presented in Venice during the 2025 Architecture Biennale, the technology is applied for the first time in a full-scale Basic Services Unit housing prototype. The prototype follows the principle of incremental design, entailing fast and efficient construction through the provision of essential housing components, while empowering people to finish building their home themselves. Holcim\u2019s net-zero<sup>1<\/sup>biochar concrete mix also incorporates circularity, using 100% recycled aggregates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>Miljan Gutovic, Holcim CEO:<\/strong> \u201cHolcim is the leading partner for sustainable construction, and we work with stakeholders across the value chain to deliver innovative and sustainable solutions for our customers. Through our partnership with Alejandro Aravena and the ELEMENTAL team, we have demonstrated how Holcim\u2019s new carbon sink technology can shape the future of construction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Alejandro Aravena, Founder, ELEMENTAL<\/strong>: \u201cIn Venice, we are bringing incremental housing to its core: a structural sanitation unit using precast panels takes care of the basic needs of inhabitation. Holcim\u2019s new decarbonization technology allows us to address the scale and speed of the housing crisis&#8217; demand without putting a strain on the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>At the end of life, organic matter releases CO<sub>2<\/sub>; by converting it into a charcoal-like material called biochar, the CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;that would have been released is permanently sequestered. When added to low-carbon formulations of cement, mortar or concrete, it further reduces their CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;footprint, with no compromise in performance. One kilogram of biochar prevents the release of up to three kilograms of CO<sub>2<\/sub>. This carbon sink technology broadens Holcim\u2019s range of innovative solutions, from its sustainable building materials ECOPact and ECOPlanet, to its circular technology ECOCycle\u00ae.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Holcim and ELEMENTAL\u2019s project will be showcased from May 7 to November 23, 2025 as part of the Time Space Existence exhibition, organized by the European Cultural Centre in Venice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><small><sup>1&nbsp;<\/sup>Scope of concrete production phases (A1-A3 cradle to gate) in Life Cycle Assessment. Assumes average transportation distance of 300km for cement and filler &amp; 100km for aggregates.<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Holcim is partnering with Pritzker Prize-winning architect Alejandro Aravena and his firm ELEMENTAL to present a new biochar technology that transforms buildings into carbon sinks. Presented in Venice during the 2025 Architecture Biennale, the technology is applied for the first time in a full-scale Basic Services Unit housing prototype. The prototype follows the principle of [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":163184,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"Holcim is partnering with Pritzker Prize-winning architect Alejandro Aravena and his firm ELEMENTAL to present a new biochar technology that transforms buildings into carbon sinks","footnotes":""},"categories":[5571],"tags":[12738,5838,10744,10416,10743],"supplier":[26340,26341,21688],"class_list":["post-163182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-co2-based","tag-biochar","tag-bioeconomy","tag-carboncapture","tag-circulareconomy","tag-useco2","supplier-elemental","supplier-european-cultural-centre","supplier-holcim-ltd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163182\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163182"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=163182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}